What We Become
by WriterGirl0812
Summary: When Mr. Church comes knocking looking for a favor, Barney Ross and the rest of The Expendables know it means something beyond dangerous. That's how they find themselves on a mission to extract a compromised CIA computer hacker who may be Barney's daughter. Post Expendables 2, slight AU. M rating for violence - but what can you expect from The Expendables?
1. Chapter 1: The Mission, The Discovery

**Spoiler Alert: This story mentions plot from _The Expendables 2_, you have been warned.**

**Authors Note:** Set in a slight AU. In this one, Billy The Kid survived being stabbed by Vilian. I had planned to introduce a new character in his place but found myself writing one similar to Billy, so I decided to bring him in. As this is a work in progress any feedback is welcome!

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Barney Ross sits towards the middle of the bar at Ackerson's Bar, a local dive bar. He's sipping a beer while half paying attention to the two TV's hanging above the bar, one playing a baseball game and the other muted and on the local news. The Expendables made it back from a mission overseas a few days ago and he's enjoying his time off till the next job comes along.

A lanky man in a suit and tie, looking completely out of place, strolls into the bar and immediately takes a seat a stool away from Barney. He glances over his shoulder before ordering a vodka tonic. There's a sense of jitteriness to the man as he turns to Barney, "Whose winning?" He asks as he cocks his head towards the TV playing the baseball game.

"Not really paying attention." Barney answers, "Though I'm sure you could call one of your spook buddies to find out." He takes one last swing of the beer in his bottle and signals the bartender for another.

Barney's words cause the man to get more anxious "I don't know what you mean." He tells him. "You seem troubled with your thoughts. Perhaps going to Church would be a good idea. Give you a new perspective." The words come out of his mouth in such a way that Barney knows they are rehearsed. The kid is a CIA agent in training.

"Hold the beer Andy." Barney says to the bartender putting money down on the bar top. He gets up from the seat and puts a hand on the shoulder of the man. "Don't worry kid I have a way of spotting spooks when I see them." He tells the kid, keeping his voice low, before walking out. With the nearest church just over a mile away, Barney takes his motorcycle there.

As he pulls into the parking lot, the familiar black SUV he's grown to associate with the man he only knows as Mr. Church. He kills the engine to the bike before heading up the stairs and into the church. Sure enough Church is sitting in one of the middle pews, looking bored and annoyed to have waited so long.

"Next time send someone who doesn't need training wheels. I made him the second I saw him." Barney tells Church as he walks up the aisle, stopping near the pew Church sits in.

Church cracks a grin, "I thought a little humor might be needed before I hand this off to you." Church says grabbing a folder from beside him. He rises to his feet, leaning against the pew.

"Cut to the chase Church. Last time I saw you, you were threatening to throw me in the deepest darkest hole you could find. We're even for that one and I haven't done shit to cross you since." Barney says.

Church casts a glance to the three black suited security agents he has with him, giving a knowing nod. The men tense, ready to spring on Barney, which has him realizing something big is up. Church pulls a picture from the file and holds it out for Barney to see "Meet Agent Alyssa Hollis. She was an elite FBI computer specialist and hacker until she was recruited by me to work for the company. Most recently she was working undercover as a hacker for a Russian mob affiliate. Her objective was to gather information on the affiliate while assisting them in their plans to create a computer virus capable of stealing credit card information from hundreds of thousands of people. She missed a check in two days ago and this morning we got an emergency alert from her. Sources reveal her cover was blown and she is now being held captive in the headquarters."

Barney listens to Church talk about the girl while looking the picture over. "And you want us to go in and get her right?" Barney asks, "Don't you spooks have extraction teams?"

"They have her drugged and working against her will to finish the computer program. Her rescue is matter of national security." Church explains, "If she finishes the program, they will kill her and use it to bankroll their operation."

Casting another glance at the girl in the picture, clearly for some sort of ID, Barney gets the feeling there's something Church isn't telling him. "If we do this Church, you're going to be the one owing me a favor. Make it two for the things you clearly aren't telling me."

Church looks to the security agents then looks to Barney, "As part of Agent Hollis' deal for joining the CIA she wanted me to track down her birth father. I've been working it personally as often as I can. One of our reconstruction techs did a mock up of what her father could possibly look like based on hers and her mother's appearances." Church pulls a second photo from his file and holds it out to Barney.

There are six images on the sheet and all of them look similar to Barney. "I think I'd know if I had a kid, Church." Barney says, "This girl must be pretty darn valuable for you to try and guilt trip me into taking it. I think we're done here." Barney says and turns for the door, one of the security agent's moves to block the exit. "You'll be across the room and I'll still be walking out that door when I'm done with you." Barney warns him.

"Karen Howard, she lived in the North End in a small one bedroom near the water." Church says pulling a third photo from his folder and holds it up, "Twenty years ago, you were taking time off and ended up extending it into a hiatus of sorts."

Karen's name causes Barney to turn back towards Church; he looks at the picture and knows her. He stopped being a mercenary to be with Karen, he thought he could live an honest life with her. It only last half a year or so before the darkness built up in him and he realized he could never live a completely honest life. He made his living by killing, not by working construction, in an auto body or whatever other odd job he could find. He had seen so many others struggle with long term relationships with their line of work. If he told Karen the truth either she'd kick him to the curb or spend her days worrying about him when he was away working. If he lied to her, he'd be doing just that and he couldn't do it. Which left him with only one option, to end things with her and he did. He left her the meager contents of his savings account and skipped town to head back to work as a mercenary. As the years past Karen became just a memory of a life he couldn't live. He hadn't thought about her in a long awhile, until now.

"Karen is Agent Hollis's mother; she died eight years ago when Hollis was twelve. She was put into foster care with no other family to take her in. Her birth certificate was blank on the line for the father." Church says and then steps closer to Barney, "I know it's a lot to take in, now I can't prove it 100%, not without DNA, but I think we both know that girl is your daughter. And there is a ticking time clock hanging above her head. You and your team get her out and we'll run the DNA. If she's not your daughter, well you did a good deed and I owe you those two favors. If she is, well you get it."

Barney holds his hand out for the file, "If this is some sort of trick Church I'm going to come for you and I will kill you. Understood?"

Church nods and hands the file over, "Her location and everything you need is in there. Actually." Church reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out a black case, it's thin and long enough to a pencil, "If my sources are correct she's going to be severely drugged, you'll need this." He hands the case over to Barney.


	2. Chapter 2: Boom Time Boys

"You want to talk about it?"Lee Christmas asks Barney from the co-pilot's seat of The Expendables new plane. It was a replacement for the one they crashed into a Soviet mine in the Albania area a few months back. It took the team only a few weeks to fully customize it to fit their needs like their last one.

Barney keeps his eyes on the sky in front of him, "Nothing to talk about." Barney answers, "It is work, just another case."

Lee shakes his head letting out a frustrated sigh, "It's not just another case." He tells Barney, "This one is personal. You're going in there to save a girl who could very well be your daughter. One you didn't know about." He keeps his tone hushed; he was the only one on the team Barney had confessed Church's findings to. When he realizes his words aren't getting anywhere he leans back in the seat, "I do have to point out that after all the years of you telling me to be careful with Lacy, to not get attached; I find you did the exact same thing. Fucking hypocrite." He says and shoots his friend a glance.

"Maybe that advice was coming from someone who did get attached. So not a hypocrite, you're still a blind fool for trusting that woman though." Barney says with a smirk.

"Why does it have to be Miami." Gunnar shouts from the back of the plane, "I hate Miami."

"Why will it mess up your hair pretty boy?" Yin taunts from the back with a laugh. The taunt causes laughter to ring throughout the plane.

The loudest of the laughs is from Billy. After being critically injured by Jean Vilian on their mission to Siberia a few months ago, Billy left the team to recover. Barney didn't think he'd see Billy come back to them, until one day Billy showed up Ackerson's bar with a duffle bag in hand and a scar on his chest. They had gone on two missions with him sense and everyone noticed there was a change in him along with the fact Sophia wasn't mentioned.

After touching down in Miami they rendezvous with an associate of Church's who supplies them with armored SUV's complete with bullet proof glass and puncture proof tires. While the team usually opted for military grad combat vehicles or a tank, the SUV's are much more subtle. With the plan being to quietly extract Alyssa from the upper levels of a large scale laundry facility for area hotels, a shell company for the Russian mob affiliate. The plan is use Toll Road and Gunnar to create a distraction down the street, forcing the guards to go investigate leaving Yin, Hale Cesar, Barney and Lee to infiltrate the building. Billy will be across the street, on top of a tall parking garage, providing sniper support as needed.

Barney pulls the SUV into a spot in the parking garage with Lee pulling in a few spots down. Both spots are on the first level and easily assemble from the street -all good for a quick getaway.

"Blow the fire hydrant, it'll be funny." Gunnar coaxes Toll, in a conversation Barney can hear over their earpieces. "Ross, fire hydrant, funny or not?"

"Boss, I've got only a few options. A closed diner could look like a gas leak. There's an empty travel bus too. But I'm thinking the big guy is right on the fire hydrant. Lots of water, it'll be a big distraction."

"Fire hydrant, fire hydrant, blow it up." Gunnar quietly cheers.

Barney lets out a small sigh, "Do the hydrant. Kid you into position?" He asks.

"Affirmative." Billy answers, "First floor is light up, but the machines aren't running. I've spotted guards, at least fifteen, moving on all three floors. Don't see a pattern to the rotation. Second floor rooms seem to all be in darkness. Third floor as the most action, I count ten Russians walking about. There are a few guards located at the end of the hall in a room where I see a lot of computer monitors. Third to the left. My bet is on the target being in there. Sir, with the way the Russians are celebrating…"

"Let's hope we're not too late." Yin says looking up from the backseat window through the windshield at the building. He voices the concern Billy didn't vocalize.

"I don't know about you man, but I am all about dealing out an ass whopping tonight." Caesar says rubbing his hands together.

"Boss, we're ready." Toll's voice comes through the earpiece.

"Boom time boys." Barney orders.

Seconds later a loud explosion rips through the area. In its wake care alarms go off, people scream and windows shatter. A large blast of water shoots high in the air, visible from the parking garage. The height of the water dies down but keeps on pumping out.

"Movement." Billy observes from his roof top perch, "The four ground level guards are moving outside to investigate. Second floor, two guards moving. Third floor, one guard moving. Still leaves three on the top floor and two on the second. First floor is clear."

With that Lee and Barney's SUV's empty out with the men inside heading to the laundry facility. Yin's material arts skills come in high use as he takes down remaining guards and a few curious Russian celebrators quietly. With the ease of a knife Lee is right beside Yin, taking down those in the way. It's Barney and Caesar who hand towards the back, watching all of their backs with silenced hand guns in hand and higher powered guns slung around their backs.

A guard appears with his gun raised before he or any of the other Expendables can shoot, the guard drops to the ground. The bullet in the man's skull and a crack in the window are the only physical evidence of Billy's shot.

"Right through the head. Good shot kid." Caesar says to Billy as he steps over the guard's body.

"So much for fully stealth." Lee says looking from the dead guard to Barney. Quiet stealth missions like these aren't The Expendables style. While they can pull them off they prefer the loud, wild and in your face ones. Crashing vehicles into the house in Nepal and going in guns blazing to rescues an extremely wealthy Chinese business man, that's 100% their style.

The team makes it to stairwell, stopping on the second floor landing. There they are met with heavy gunfire from the celebrating Russians who were making their way down to the ground level to investigate the explosion.


	3. Chapter 3: In Pieces

"Stealth ain't happening boys." Barney says holstering the silenced handgun and pulling the higher powered gun from the shoulder strap around his back, "Toll, Gunnar, keep those outside, out. It's going to get loud in here."

Lee looks to Barney, "You and Yin head upstairs. Caesar and I will hold here."

Barney gives a nod to Lee and looks to Yin who nods in approval to the plan. "Kid, I need your attention moved to the third floor. If it ain't one or us, or the target, and moves shoot it." Barney orders.

"You got it sir, repositioning for the better angle now." Billy answers over the earpiece.

"Time to go." Caesar shouts to them and lays down a round of cover fire with his automatic shotgun, "You Russian's got vodka, I've got this baby!" He shouts to them over the fire.

Barney runs up the stairs with Yin at his side. While Yin is much more comfortable with hand to hand combat, he has a handgun in hand, just in case. They clear the entry way and empty into the third floor hallway.

"Guard outside the Target's room is down." Billy informs them, "I've spotted two Russian's down the hall. They are hiding behind a desk; I can't get a clear visual because of the blinds."

"I've got them." Yin says to Barney before running down the hallway with steps that aren't heard over the gun fire downstairs.

Barney makes his way down the hallway, stopping outside of the room with the dead guard. He heads inside; gun raised but finds it to be empty other than a girl slumped over in a chair with five different computer screens in front of her. Her face rests just inches from the keyboard. There's a long chain cuffed to a hook on the wall to her left wrist. He steps besides her, keeping an ear cocked to the door, just in case. He puts to fingers to her neck feeling for a pulse, as he does so her eyes flutter open. They don't focus on him or anything else in the room; for the most part they are foggy and blank. "Hey there Agent Hollis." He tells her softly, "Church sent us to bring you home, okay?" He doesn't let himself look for signs of Karen or him in her face. He has to stay focused on the mission.

The girl's right hand moves to the keyboard, weakly hitting computer keys. "I….shut…down." She says each word between long breaths.

Barney glances to the door and sizes up the situation. There's no time for her in a condition like this to shut, what he assumes is, the computer system down. He reaches into the pocket of his vest pulling out the case Church gave him, inside is a needle filled with adrenaline. It'll counteract the effects of whatever they drugged her with. "This will hurt." He tells her before stabbing the needle into the muscle of her left arm. It doesn't take a minute before she perks up, becoming much more alert of her surroundings, "Church sent me." Barney tells her, "If you need to shut this thing down, do it now we don't have much time." He says gesturing to the computer.

She spends a couple of seconds stunned before she goes to work typing away on the keyboard. Her eyes dart back and forth through the screens.

"Sir, we have trouble." Billy says, "Three cars just pulled up and they all contain some pissed off looking Russians."

"Toll? Gunnar?" Barney asks into the earpiece.

"We're starting to run low on ammo." Toll answers.

"Start moving back to the SUV's. Billy, reposition to provide them support." Barney orders, "Christmas, Caesar, we're going to need a quick exit out to the garage can you find one?"

"Oh I've got an idea." Caesar's voice comes through the other end with glee in his tone.

Barney turns his attention to the girl, "We have to go now." He tells her and pulls on the chain connected to the wall. The metal is strong and only bends to his strength. He puts his body between hers and the wall and fires his handgun at the link connected to the wall hook. The metal snaps free with impact. "Is it shut down?" He asks her. The gun fire is growing louder inside and out.

Before he can react her pale arm grabs the other holstered handgun from his side and she turns firing multiple bullets into a large tower that he can only assume is the server. "Shut down now." She tells him. She looks around her room, quickly, sending her brown hair flying in every direction. "They still might be able to recover data, it needs to burn." She grabs a handle of vodka from a table by the door and dumps it over the server. "Got a light?"

Barney is shocked the girl managed to get one of his weapons from him and is impressed by her actions. For a computer analyst she has much more skill than he expected. He pulls a skull lighter from his pocket and heads to the door, pulling her with him. Once they are clear from the room he lights it and tosses it on the alcohol covered server, which lights up in seconds. "You know how to kill with that thing?" He asks nodding to the gun as he leads her to the stairs.

"Hands are shaky from the adrenaline…" Alyssa admits as she wraps the dangling chain around her left wrist multiple times to keep it out of her way. With that done she holds the gun, aimed and ready, like a pro. "But I've got your back." She tells him.

"Alright then." Barney says and they begin their descent down the stairs. A well dressed Russian appears in the stairway with a shotgun aimed on them. Barney fires a shot into the guys shoulder, causing him to drop the gun. "I'm out." He tells Alyssa when he his gun clips empty. He reaches into his back pocket pulling out a new mag.

Alyssa fires the hand gun a few times, hitting the man in the chest and head before he falls to the ground with his shot gun. She begins her descent down the stairs and fires shots into the man until the gun clicks empty. "Who's in pieces now?" She asks him. When she looks up at Barney there's a flash of hate in her eyes. A hate he realizes is for the man she just killed, something tells him the Russian's weren't very hospitable once her cover was blown.

"You good?" Barney asks her as he hands her a new clip.

Alyssa takes the clip and reloads with ease. "I'm better." She answers. And with that they head to meet up with Lee, Yin and Caesar on the second floor.


	4. Chapter 4: We Specialize In This

They make it to the end of the hall on the second floor finding the rest of the team waiting for them. Caesar has knocked out a window and has shot a zip line down to the ground just outside the parking garage.

"This shit is bad ass." Caesar says with a laugh, "Gunnar mocked me for spending the money on the custom piece for my shot gun to do this, but who's the stupid one now?"

"You're a regular every day genius." Gunnar's voice comes through their ear pieces, "But don't forget who's the one who went to MIT."

"There are children who aren't this excited on Christmas." Lee says and hands a belt, obviously taken from a dead security guard, off to Barney.

Barney takes the belt and looks to his three team members, "Lee you go first and lay down ground cover. Yin you go next. I'll go with Agent Hollis and Caesar you go last, cutting the line so we aren't followed." He orders.

"We made you something pretty lady." Caesar says handing off a makeshift harness made from a couple of interlocked belts. The rest of them will use a single belt to slide down the zip line. Caesar moves into position to cover the door while Lee and Yin head down the zip line.

"You've got nothing to be afraid of Agent Hollis; we specialize in this kind of thing." Barney tells her as he helps her into the harness which he attaches to the weapons belt he's wearing. It's not ideal but will due in this situation.

"Lissa." She tells him, her eyes keep darting around the room. While she's more focused than before, the adrenaline is making her jumping. "And I'm okay."

Barney nods to her and hostlers his handgun she had been using. "Billy, make your way down. It's time to go." He orders. He and Lissa move to the window edge and she wraps her arms tightly around his body. "Here we go, okay? One, two, three." He steps off the ledge and they move quickly down the zip line due to their combined weight. She doesn't make a sound but her whole body goes tense. Once on the ground Lee uses a knife to cut them free from the harness.

"Everyone pull out!" Barney orders as they head to the SUV, "The target is secure."

Barney and Billy get Lissa loaded into one of the SUV's with Yin in the passenger seat. Lee's SUV peels out of the garage with Caesar riding shot gun to go pick Gunnar and Toll up. Barney climbs into the driver's seat of his SUV and Yin climbs into the passenger seat. Billy's beside Lissa in the back with a gun ready in his hand to fire out the window. As Lee's SUV blows by them, now with Toll and Gunnar inside, Barney follows.

"How are you doing Agent Hollis?" Yin asks as he helps buckle her seat belt.

Lissa nods to him and moves to position her head between her legs. "The adrenaline is wearing off." She shares.

"This may help." Billy says handing her a stick of mint gum from the pocket of his vest. She takes it and begins to chew.

It only takes them a few minutes before they lose the remaining Russian affiliates tailing them. It's quick drive to the small airstrip Barney had landed their plane at. Lee's SUV is the first to pull into the hanger with Barney's close behind. Church's contact is leaning against the hanger, waiting for them.

"Any difficulties sir?" The contact asks as he strolls up to Barney's SUV. He's much more confident than the agent Church sent to Ackerson's bar the night before. While this spook is young, he seems a lot more seasoned.

Barney opens the backseat door revealing Billy and Lissa in the backseat, "We got the package, got a little messy though."

The contact nods and looks to the two men standing a few feet back from them, "Get Mr. Church on the line, he wanted a word with Mr. Ross." He tells one of them over his shoulder and holds out his hand.

One of the men steps forward, giving a tense look to Barney, before placing the phone into the contact's hand. The contact doesn't miss a beat and holds the phone out to Barney with the screen displaying and outgoing call to Church.

Barney looks over his shoulder to Billy and Lissa, she's somewhere past half awake but not totally sleeping yet, "Help her out okay kid?" He asks Billy and then takes the phone. It rings a couple of times before Church answers, "We got the package." Barney says before Church can say a word. He watches as Billy helps Lissa out of the SUV and begins to lead her over to the contact's car.

"That's not important right now. Do not let the agent overhear this conversation." Church tells him, there's a sense of urgency in his tone which makes Barney comply without mocking Church. He takes a few steps away from the contact and his team turning his back to them. There's a pause before Church speaks again, "There are at least two leaks in my division. Agent Hollis is not safe with anyone but you and your team. Do you understand me Ross? Do not let her out of your sight; do not let any agent take her. My contact, he's one of the leaks."

Barney spins around to see Billy shutting the door to the backseat of the contacts sedan. The contact is sitting in the driver's seat, fiddling with the GPS. Barney begins to size up his options on the best way to handle the situation. The two agents who had come with the contact to drive the borrowed SUV's back are looking a bit tenser now. From their stance Barney can tell they have weapons. The engine is running to the sedan, which means one wrong move and the contact could take off with Lissa.

"Ross do you understand me?" Church's voice barks through the phone.

"Got it." Barney answers and then hangs up. He starts walking slowly to the SUV and glances to Lee.

It doesn't take more than a second for Lee to know something is wrong. "How's everything? Church happy this is all wrapped up in a nice bow?"

Barney smirks, trying to keep the façade of things being casual, "You know how Church is he doesn't like anyone but the best handling his packages."

Lee nods, "He can be rather picky." He then begins strolling over to Caesar, "Hey big guy, I was wondering if I could check out that gun of yours, I'm curious how that zip line attachment works."

"Agent Hollis is asleep in the back, sir." Billy tells Barney as he reaches the sedan. With his job done, Billy walks away to join the rest of the team.

Barney holds the phone out to the contact, "All set." He tells him as he leans down to look into the car. Barney spots Lissa sound asleep in the backseat and wishes she was awake. With her out cold getting her from the car is only going to be difficult. He casts a glance over the car roof and sees Lee and Yin sneaking up behind the two other agents. Just as Yin struggles to take one of the agents down, he fires a shot from his gun.

And that's all it takes the spook the contact into firing a shot at Barney before hitting the gas pedal.


	5. Chapter 5: Brain Scramble

Barney stumbles back a few steps from the force of the bullet. He's glad he kept his bullet proof vest on, but can already feel the familiar ache of a broken rib. "Stop that car!" He shouts to his team before pulling his handgun and firing at the tires.

"I'll stop it." Gunnar says with a grin as he runs up to Barney with a high powered gun in hand. It's the type of gun that'll take half the car out.

"Agent Hollis is in the car, we need her alive." Barney tells him with a warning glare, Gunnar has always been the type to shoot first and ask questions later. In a normal situation, Barney would embrace Gunnar's quick to kill nature, but not now, not with the woman who is possibly his daughter in the car.

One of the borrowed SUV's springs to life and roars past the group with Caesar on top of it. Billy's sniper rifle is visible from the passenger window as Lee is behind the wheel. Lee is quickly gaining on the contact's sedan.

"Let me guess the Central Misinformation Agency has another leak?" Toll asks as he pulls the other SUV up next to Barney. He leans over and opens up the passenger side door for Barney.

Barney climbs in with a laugh, "Two or more this time." He informs Toll with a knowing look. Neither of them or the rest of the team trusted the CIA, other than Church and even that was on occasion. They catch up to Lee's SUV just as Caesar pounces on top of the sedan, leaving a dent from his impact. He smashes the sunroof with the butt end of his weapon and reaches inside.

The sedan comes to a screeching stop seconds later with the two SUV's surrounding it. The Expendables climb out guns raised and ready.

"Caesar, you good?" Barney asks, not taking his eyes off the driver's side door. There's a good size spider webbed crack on the glass to the rolled up window. Something impacted with the window, hard. Barney's willing to bet his custom built motorcycle it was the contact's head.

There's a loud grunt from Caesar and he jumps down from the cars roof, "Our pal here isn't so good." Caesar says as he opens the driver's side door and the contact falls out. He's unconscious with a large bloody wound on the side of his head. "I gave him the option to pull over but he wouldn't listen. Apparently he wanted his brain scrambled."

"The girl is safe." Lee says from the other side of the car. He has an unconscious Lissa in his arms, there's a slight gash on her forehead which could have been from the broken sunroof glass or the abrupt stop. "Minor head wound, but otherwise fine."

Barney holsters his weapon and walks over to Caesar and the contact; he pulls the cell phone he had used earlier from the man's suit coat pocket. After hitting redial, Church answers one the first ring. "Agent Hollis is secure and I'm leaving your leak and his men behind at the airstrip. Do what you want with them, they aren't my problem now." He doesn't wait for Church's reply and just hangs up. "Lee, get her on the plane and secured to take off." Barney tells Lee, "We'll put him and the other two somewhere till Church gets here."

With the contact and his two men locked in a large rolling storage bin inside the hanger, Barney heads for the plane with Toll and Gunnar. Inside he finds Billy looking Lissa over as she lies on a bench. He's fiddling with the handcuff still on her left wrist. "How is she?"

Billy gets to his feet, an old habit of being in the military not too long ago, "Sir I just wanted to say I'm sorry I didn't catch on sooner to what was going on. I never would have left Agent Hollis if I knew something was wrong." Billy apologizes.

"The only way Lee knew something was up is because we've worked together so long. We can read each other. You've got nothing to be sorry for kid." Barney says and pats Billy on the shoulder, "She stable enough for the flight home?"

Billy gives a nod, "She's dehydrated so I'll start an IV once we're up in the air. The head wound is nothing serious, just needs a band aid or two. Other than that, it's just waiting for the drugs to wear off in her system." While Billy is an experienced sniper, he had some medical skills when it came to combat injuries.

"Keep an eye on her for me." Barney says then heads to the front of the plane, "I think Miami will be happy to see us go." He says to the whole team.

"Fuck Miami." Gunnar shouts, "It's too damn hot. And I spent half the night fighting in cold hydrant water!"

As Barney begins the planes take off from Miami he can't help but worry what's to come to when they land. Whoever the remaining leaks in the CIA are it's clear they want Lissa Hollis and will go to any length to get her. His daughter or not, the girl needs protection.


	6. Chapter 6: Waking Up

**Authors Note:** **Thank you to all of you who have read, I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it. I'd like to give a little shout out to my first few reviewers, Moviemuncher, Miss Scarlet Darkness and WolfieBurnsTheNight your kind words are greatly appreciated.**

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Lissa Hollis comes to finding herself in a room lit by the setting sun. The room she's in smells faintly of sweat and cigarette smoke. The furniture in the room is at a minimum and none of it matches, a lopsided dresser, a barstool as an end table and the double size bed. She clutches the blanket on top of her; the fabric is scratchy and smells like a plastic storage bag. Combing those two factors with the fact it's the only thing that stands out in the dirty room it means it was bought recently.

Sucking in a breath Lissa closes her eyes and tries to remember what brought her to this room. All she can recall is a bunch of jumbled memories and a few sounds, all if it passes through her mind in seconds leaving her more confused than before. She takes in another breath and lets it out; focusing on the last thing she can remember that isn't jumbled.

She's in the hotel in Miami. Her hair is still damp from the shower she just took and she's pulling on a navy blue knee length sleeveless dress. It's a simple dress that's on the casual side. She's just finishing towel drying her hair when the door to her room bursts open. Two of Grigory Sedov's men are there with guns in their hands. She knows in that instant her cover has been blown. Before she can make it to the bathroom where she has a gun taped under the sink they have her on the ground. A drug is injected into her arm and things fade to black as she struggles.

Lissa opens her eyes, taking in her surroundings once again. Nothing about this place makes her think of Sedov and his men. A place this run down is not their style, it is however, CIA safe house style. She climbs out of the bed, taking note that she's still in the navy blue dress which now is severely wrinkled and stained in places. Her bare feet hit the cool wooden floor with each step. She looks around the room finding no sign of her shoes. As she heads for the door she notices there's a mirror hanging on the back of it and the reflection causes her to stop in her tracks.

Heavy bags standout against her pale skin making her look worn and tired. Her light brown hair is disheveled mess with parts in knots and most of it sticking in random directions. There's a bandage on her forehead that when she touches her fingers to it she feels pain. Her left wrist is bruised with most of the skin an angry raw red. Needle marks line the interior of her elbow, she now realizes why memories are blurry and jumbled she's been drugged. Lissa can only recognize herself somewhat in the reflection. Whatever she's not remembering it must have been bad.

Staying alert she leaves the room and finds her way to the staircase. She can hear voices downstairs and pauses to listen. When she hears the sound of automated laughter used on half an hour comedies she knows it's a TV she hears. The smell of cooking onions, peppers and steak makes her stomach grumble. When was the last time she ate? The smell leads her to the kitchen where a man sits at a table with mismatched chairs, clearing a theme in this safe house, his gaze on the television. She doesn't get to say a word because he senses her presence and turns around.

"You're awake." He observes and hits a button on a clicker turning the TV off, "How you feeling?" He rises from the chair and turns to look at her.

Lissa knows right away the man standing in front of her is not CIA. The stance reads military and with the way he's a bit more relaxed she's willing to bet former military. He's about her age, maybe a few years older. There's a roughness to him but a glint of kindness in his blue eyes. Overall he's not CIA safe house operator material, he's something else. Instincts kick in and her sore body grabs a nearby knife off the kitchen counter, "Where am I?" She demands, "Who are you?"

The man slowly puts his hands up, "Hey, it's alright." He keeps his voice low and calm, "I'm Billy. Church sent the team I'm apart of to extract you from Miami." He explains, "I know you have no reason to trust me and after everything that's happened to you, I'd be on the offensive too. But we're the good guys. My boss, Barney, went out to grab beer and he'll be back any minute now."

At his words Lissa moves to put her back against the nearest wall instead of the open doorway so that Billy's boss wouldn't be able to grab her from behind.

"So what is going to take for me to get your assurance that you won't stab Barney when he walks in that door?" Billy asks her.

Lissa looks to him, keeping her grip on the knife steady, "How long have I been here?"

"We pulled you out just after three AM this morning. You've been here since about six." Billy answers.

The clock built into the stove reads 5:48 which means according to Billy she's nearly been here for two hours. "Where is here?" She asks him, her gaze goes out the kitchen window where she can see acres of land with a large barn in the distance.

"A farm just a few miles outside of New Orleans." Billy replies, "And the answer to your next question is your cover was blown you were held captive by the Russian affiliate until we busted you on the fourth night, well fifth morning."

His words send Lissa's mind spinning. Five days since her cover was blown, she can recall the moment Sedov's men came for her in her hotel room but after that it's all a blur. Four and a half days of her life are a mess of jumbled and blurry images in her mind. When she woke up she thought I was a day, maybe a day and a half. But four and a half days is a lot.

"You alright?" Billy asks her, taking a cautious step forward. "You're looking like you're about to pass out." He reaches behind him.

"Don't." She shouts at him, noticing her hand holding the knife is now shaking.

Billy drops his hand but takes a step sideways so she can see the table, "I was going to hand you the soda, the sugar in it is good for preventing shock."

Lissa nods, she knows his words to be true. She's about to order him to hand the can over when a blurry image flashes before her eyes. There's multiple computer monitors around her that a blurry from lack of sleep. Her head is roughly pulled back and man with rough hands begins pouring a bitter tasting energy drink in her mouth. He's speaking in Russian with an occasional laugh leaving his lips. The memory fades away and Lissa finds her whole body is now shaking. The knife drops from her hands about the same time her knees go weak causing her slump down against the wall.


	7. Chapter 7: Daisy Perfume

The memory keeps flashing before Lissa's eyes in a constant loop. The feeling of drowning from the soda being forced down her throat makes her cough trying to clear her lungs. The memory loop suddenly stops and she finds herself on the floor in the farm house. There's an arm tight across her stomach and another by her collar bone, holding her in place. An empty soda can of Dr. Pepper is discarded on the floor along with the knife. The front of the navy blue dress is wet and there's a feeling of stickiness around her mouth and down her chest. She's breathing heavy and so is the person behind her. A part of her expects to hear Russian words or English in a thick Russian accent, but instead the person holding her speaks with a perfect American accent.

"Agent Hollis?" The man holding her asks, "Agent Hollis you started slipping into shock." His grip on her loosens as she feels herself begin to relax, "I had to restrain you to get you to drink some of the soda to help snap you out of it. You okay if I let go?"

"Fine." She answers, her throat is sore now from the coughing, making her voice hoarse. When he fully lets go she scoots away from him so she can look at him. It's Billy, the-definitely-not-CIA-operative but also definitely-not-a-Russian-mob-member. Lissa wipes her mouth with the back of her hand; she can't help but feel slightly embarrassed. In the abridged version of CIA training she briefly learned about dealing with shock and things like it. She knows enough that she couldn't need help from anyone.

A small smile forms on Billy's face, "It's hard, I know firsthand." He tells her, "I lost friends in combat but I was never made into a prisoner. It is hell either way when things happen and you have no control over them." Lissa can't help but notice a glint of sadness in his eyes. She's about to ask what happened to him when there's the sound of an ancient screen door opening and closing.

"Kid?" A deep voice calls from a few rooms away.

"In here Barney." Billy says rising to his feet, he offers a hand down to Lissa and pulls her up. "One of us." He tells her before Barney enters the room.

A tall, well-built and very muscular man with dark hair stands in the doorway of the kitchen with a brown paper bag in one hand. Something about him sets off a spark of familiarity with Lissa but she can't fully place it. She can recall him being blurry and out of focus, maybe she saw him during the extraction. He seems a bit surprised to see her standing in the kitchen and his eyes narrow in on the soda can and knife on the floor. "Everything alright?" He asks looking to her.

"Fine." Lissa answers. She notices Barney doesn't take her word for it, he looks to Billy who gives him a nod. After that the subject is dropped.

"You hungry Agent Hollis?" Barney asks her as he pulls a six pack of beer from the paper bag and sets it down on the counter.

The thought of food makes her stomach rumble again. Instead of asking for more information or when Church will be coming to bring her back to D.C, food takes priority. "Starving." She answers.

The three of them eat in near silence for the meal. At Lissa's third helping of the shredded steak, onions, peppers and mushrooms there's a laugh from Barney. The whole meal both men kept a cautious eye on her.

"I'll get in touch with Church and let him know you're awake." Barney tells her, "We weren't expecting you to come to till at least tomorrow morning. The way they had you drugged, I'm surprised to see you up and moving."

Lissa nods and finishes off the bottle of water Billy had put in front of her at the start of the meal. "I'd rather not talk about that." She says to Barney, wanting to drop the subject of her time spent as a Russian hostage. The last thing she needs is another jumbled forgotten memory playing on loop. She'll deal with all of that back in D.C; the CIA had shrinks for a reason.

"I grabbed some clothes for you." Billy tells her and gets up from the table disappearing into another room. He returns half a minute later with a plastic grocery store shopping bag in hand, "They belonged to my ex-girlfriend who was about your size. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I grabbed it all. There's some other stuff too."

Lissa takes the bag from him and begins looking the contents over. There are a few different outfits in here and all look about her size. There's a bottle of shampoo and a few other random items that once belonged to Billy's ex-girlfriend. At this point she'd be happy to wear a potato sack if it got her out of the stained, smelly and now sticky dress. "Thank you."

"As you can tell we're not so use to female company." Barney tells her, "But I hope we're making due."

"You are doing just fine." Lissa tells him and gets up from the table, "I'm going to go take a shower." She goes to grab her dirty plate but Barney puts a hand out stopping her.

"I've got it." He tells her, "Upstairs, in the room you're in, there's a bathroom. The door blends into the wall, so look for the brass handle."

Lissa returns upstairs to the room she woke up in. Just like Barney said the door to the bathroom blends in completely to the wall. If she hadn't of been looking for it, she never would have noticed it. She drops the bag from Billy down on the closed toilet lid.

Pulling off the dress she can't help but gasp at the sight of her skin underneath. Bruises in different stages of healing line standout against her pale skin looking like someone tossed bruise colored paints on her. Another memory starts to play in her head but she forces it away. She won't break down again, not here. She'll fall apart in her apartment back in D.C then piece herself together.

The shower sooths the aches in her body while helping her feel a bit more alive, a bit more human. The shampoo from Billy's ex-girlfriend did little to help the tangled knotted mess that is her hair. With no hair dryer she does her best to towel dry it so water doesn't drip down her back. With the hair problem halfway solved she pulls on a faded green t-shirt and a pair of tan shorts. The clothes smell like unfamiliar laundry detergent and a hint of a daisy smelling perfume. Like Billy predicted the two of them are close to the same size and the outfit fits without her needing a belt to hold the shorts on but nothing is about to burst at the seams. She can't help but wonder how this daisy perfume wearing girl met Billy.


	8. Chapter 8: Fixing Problems

Lissa leaves the bathroom after cleaning up from her shower and finds Barney standing by the doorway. His back is to her room, giving her privacy, but he's clearly been waiting for her. "I'm decent." She tells him with a small laugh as she starts to pull the small wooden hair brush through her hair, another one of the contents of Billy's bag. "Contrary to popular belief women don't parade around naked all the time."

Barney turns around, there's an amused smirk on his face. "Like I said, you're uncharted territory." He explains, "Billy's gone out with the rest of the team but said he'll grab anything you need."

She drops Billy's bag onto the bed before flopping down on top of it. Billy's kindness stands out to her, it seems like he can relate to her situation which only makes her wish she had a chance to ask him what happened to him. She'll have to hack his military file when she gets back to D.C. "Guess it's a good thing I won't be here long then." She tells Barney. She lets out a small grunt as the hair brush catches on one of the many knots in her hair. "You need me for something?"

"I just wanted to let you know Church will be around sometime tonight. I'm sure you know how cloak and dagger he is." Barney tells her. He gestures to the blanket on the bed, "I hope it wasn't too terrible. I sent Gunnar to get it and well the sight of it makes it clear that was a mistake."

Lissa can't help but let out a laugh, "It definitely doesn't fit with the bachelor-biker-mercenary theme." She tells him. She pulls at the brush in hair, once again, but it doesn't budge. Suddenly things just seem overwhelming. Days from her life are missing, she's in hiding from a Russian mob affiliate, and now she can't even brush her hair without something going wrong. Tears well up in her eyes before they slowly make their way down her cheeks.

A slightly panicked look crosses Barney's face as he looks at her like she's a ticking time bomb he has no clue how to disarm. The look only causes her to start laughing while crying.

"I'm not like this normally, I swear." Lissa tells Barney, "This damn hairbrush is stuck in my hair and it just feels like the end of the world. I'm going to have so many problems to fix when I get back to D.C and now this goes wrong. I just want something to go right."

"Not the end of the world." Barney tells her and crosses the room, "I'm good with fixing problems. Mind if I try?"

Lissa pulls her hand back from the brush and gestures for him to go ahead. Barney gives a few good tugs and then jerks his hand back when she lets out a cry of pain.

"I don't think that's coming out without a lot of help." Barney tells her.

She already knows she's going to need help to get back on her feet and in the right state of mind when she returns to D.C. This hair mess is just another thing to add to the list and she finds herself not wanting to. "Cut it." She tells Barney.

"No." Barney tells her, "Lee's girlfriend once cut her hair short after he told her it would look nice. She came home bawling her eyes out and throwing heavy objects when it didn't look good. Nuclear weapons, politics and women's hair, pocket books, shoes and whatever else I don't get involved with."

The tears stop and Lissa finds herself laughing again, "For a mercenary you don't seem to have a lot of courage." She teases, "Scissors?"

"Down in the kitchen." Barney informs her, "For a computer analyst, you seem to have a lot."

Lissa sits at the kitchen table with a hand mirror propped up in front of her. The scissors click together for the last time as she evens out the last piece of her hair. Her mid-back light brown hair is now cut to shoulder length. Nearly all of the knots as well as the hairbrush are gone with the new cut. Her head feels much lighter with the hair gone but she also finds herself missing the longer hair. "Does it look terrible?" She asks Barney.

The whole time she had cut her hair he sat on a barstool on the other side of the kitchen watching. He didn't say a word but was clearly waiting for her to have another crying fit over the cutting, which didn't happen. Barney gives a shrug, "Better than I could have managed."

Lissa gets up from the kitchen table and grabs a nearby broom, surprised there is even one in the house. She starts sweeping up the chunks of hair littering the floor. "Don't take this the wrong why but why are you living here?" She asks him, "You don't really seem like the farmer type."

Barney grabs another beer from the fridge, holding one out to her which she turns down, "I use to live in an apartment in the city. But then I saw this place go up for foreclosure and just liked it. It has two big barns that are good for storing our equipment and plane. Plus there are no neighbors around, so no one complains about the odd hours we keep."

She's surprised to hear they have a plane. She knew the CIA occasionally out sourced to mercenaries, but all of them always needed a plane, a car, weapons or whatever else. It seems like Barney's team comes prepared with everything they could need. "Make sense." She tells him. With no dust pan in sight she rips a paper plate in half to use as a dustpan.

Barney sets his beer down on the counter top and looks to her with a serious expression on his face. "Look, kid, there's something I've got to tell you. It don't feel right sitting here keeping it to myself. And while I know it's the last thing you need right now, I'd rather you hear it from me."

Lissa drops the makeshift dustpan into the trashcan that's near the point of overflowing with beer bottles, take out and frozen meals, "What?"

"Church told me your mother is Karen Howard." Barney begins, "I knew your mother. I met her twenty years ago and tried to walk away from this life for her. I couldn't do it." He watches Lissa's face as she does the math behind what he's saying. "Church told me before we went to extract you. I've been thinking about it ever since and I wouldn't feel right keeping it from you. I don't like lying to people."

"How long has Church known?" Lissa asks him.

"He suspected it while you were undercover, he doesn't know for sure. Neither do I." Barney answers, "I thought it was one of his many tricks, just a way to get an asset out of dodge for free. But now I'm thinking otherwise."

"I think, I think I'll take that beer now." Lissa tells him. A silence falls over them after Barney hands her off a bottle of beer from the fridge. After a few sips, Lissa brings her gaze to him. "When I was a kid, I made up this whole story about how you were a spy. That Mom and I were in danger if you were around so you had to leave us. She use to get so mad when I told that story and now I see why. I wasn't that far off from the truth."

"She didn't know what I did. I never told her, I couldn't put her through worrying about me when I left on missions. I couldn't keep lying either, it's why I left." Barney pauses before speaking again, "If I had known about you…I wouldn't have.."

Lissa shakes her head, "Don't okay? Please don't say it. We were fine without you. The only time it was hard was on the days of all those father daughter events like dances or fishing tournaments. Those were the times I wished you were there. Other than that we were fine."

"I don't doubt it." Barney says, "It's clear you made something for yourself. You worked for the FBI and now the CIA, it's more than I can say for me."

There's a knock at the front door.

"Must be Church." Barney says then heads for the front door, grabbing a handgun from the countertop, just in case.


	9. Chapter 9: Off The Grid

Mr. Church strolls into the kitchen with Barney Ross right behind him. "Agent Hollis." He greets Lissa. She can't help but notice Church doesn't look as prim and proper as he normally does. His suit pants show signs of having been slept in and his eyes are bloodshot. His stress is evident when he accepts a bottle of beer from Barney. Lissa has never seen her boss drink on the job.

Church takes a long draw from the beer before grabbing a seat across from Lissa while Barney opts to stand leaning against the fridge. "Lissa, I want to say I'm sorry for what has happened to you." There's sincerity in his tone, "I've discovered two leaks in our division, and one of them was a contact of mine, Trent Davidson. Barney and his team took care of him last night. But another leak is still out there and whoever may be is still working closely with Sedov." Church explains. Hearing Grigory Sedov's name, the leader of the Russian mob affiliate who had her held hostage, sends a chill down her spine. Church pulls a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket and slides it across the table to her.

Lissa unfolds it finding a picture of her with a bunch of writing in Russian around it along with a few numbers. She doesn't understand any of it but the grimace on Barney's face leads her t believe it's not good. She takes another glance at the paper and the Russian word for dead stands out. "Sedov issued a death order for me?" She guesses. The words leave her mouth with a sour taste.

"Sedov knows you're one of the few people who can stop the program he was having you create. While all progress on it was destroyed when you were extracted, nothing is stopping him from taking another hacker. The only thing standing in his way is the fact that if you're alive you can stop him." Church lets out a sigh and brings two fingers to the bridge of his nose holding them there tightly for a second. "With the other leak remaining, it's not safe for you to return to D.C or any other CIA safe house. While I've pushed rumors that you died in the explosion at the laundry facility in Miami, a cover after the bloodshed Ross's team left behind." There's almost a scolding tone in Church's voice as he looks in Barney's direction. "But there is still chatter around the agency of a cover up. Clearly the leak has heard it because hours after the explosion the death warrant began to circulate. Until we can identify the source of the leak, you're off the grid."

Lissa nods. There's a faint feeling of sadness in her chest at the thought of not returning home again to her apartment in D.C. She was finally starting to feel at home there and now it's gone. "So I'll go off the grid and wait for the smoke to clear." She tells Church. She's never had to run before but she's been trained on how to do it.

Church shakes his head, "I can't risk you going out on your own. If Sedov finds a way for that program to be created, I need to know where you are to stop it." Church tells her. He looks to Barney, "The best course of action here is for her to remain here."

"Are you sure that's for the best?" Barney asks, "You've got to have some spooks you can actually trust that would do a much better job."

Church looks to Barney, "I think we both know it's the best idea."

Lissa grows annoyed with Church speaking about her like she's not sitting in the room. "It's for the best because you think he's my Dad right?" She asks Church keeping her voice steady but letting her anger flow into it, "Or did you plan to not tell me that? Use it as part of your advantage over me; keep me thinking you're a friend?"

"Mind your place Agent Hollis." Church snaps looking to her, "Despite everything that has happened I'm still your superior." He rises to his feet.

"Don't treat her like she's some underling Church." Barney warns, "She nearly died because of you. She's an equal."

Church glances to the two of them, "See already acting like family." He says before leaning over the table to lock eyes with Lissa, "You need to listen to me Alyssa. You will die if you aren't protected. Sedov is going to personally see to the bullet between your eyes. You need to stay safe while I work to stop Sedov permanently. Barney Ross is your best shot at staying alive so this is where you're staying." He then pulls back from the table, "I told you I find your biological father and I did. Enjoy the vacation time and do some father-daughter bonding. O don't, I don't care. Bu you're staying here. Do you understand? If you try to run, I'll void that deal you created with the FBI then you'll be thrown in the darkest hole I can find."

Lissa finds herself bowing her head at his words. At the end of the day, Church has power over her just like Sedov in his men did back in the laundry facility. She knows how far his reach goes and doesn't' doubt for a second he can void her deal. "Understood." She tells him as she gets it from the table. She can't stand another second of Church looking down at her.

Church has a grin on his face at winning while Barney has a look on his that makes her think he's trying his hardest not to hit him. "I brought the belongings from your apartment in D.C that we were able to salvage. Sedov's men destroyed it as well as your safe house in Virginia." He pulls a case from his pocket and pulls out two cheek swabs, "I'll see to it these get tested to see if you two really are family."

Lissa and Barney both rub the inside of their cheeks with the swabs, to collect DNA, before dropping them into tubes. Church seals them and tucks them back into his pocket. "Remember Alyssa; don't do anything stupid, I'll be watching." He tells them as he heads for the door.

Lissa can feel anger boiling up in her and reacts before the rational part of her brain can stop her. "Hey Church." She calls causing him to turn around. She feels her fist connect with his jaw, knocking him back a few steps. "Just because I work for the CIA doesn't mean you own me." She tells him through gritted teeth.

Church leaves after glaring in her direction. Once the screen door slams shut, Barney lets out a chuckle. "I don't think we need that DNA test." He tells Lissa, patting her on her shoulder "Because I nearly did the exact same thing." He heads for the door after Church, most likely to collect her belongings.


	10. Chapter 10: Lee and His Knives

After Church left, Lissa and Barney spent a few minutes together making fun of Church for various things before parting ways for the night. She spent most of it tossing and turning while blurred memories of her time held hostage haunted her. Just before dawn she woke up in yet another cold sweat and had enough with trying to sleep. Barney had brought up the suitcase and two large storage bins of her belongings from her apartment that Church had brought with him. She had only rummaged through the suitcase for pajamas because she didn't want to spend the night smelling Billy's ex-girlfriends perfume.

While Barney slept for most of the morning she worked to recover data to her one laptop that hadn't been destroyed by the Russians. The empty hard drive was evidence she had a chance, while captive, to send out an SOS and wipe her computer hard drives. It helps keep her mind from wondering if she was tortured the entire time or not, at some point she had enough computer access and freedom to send out for help. With data remotely recovered and Barney still sleeping she starts to sort through the bins to see what was saved.

A medium sized Vegas themed printed cosmetic bag stands out to her in the first bin. It's her emergency kit she put together when she first joined Church at the CIA months ago. Lissa dumps the contents out on the bed finding passports for three different aliases, she figures all are burned now and tosses them aside. There's a wad of cash and credit cards for all of her burned aliases. There are other random items she would need if she had to run in a hurry but one thing catches her eye. A box of at-home hair dye in Stiletto black.

She bought it thinking she'd never need it, but now as she holds the box in her hands, she begins to wonder if she does. Agent Alyssa Hollis bought the hair dye as a newly hired and confident CIA computer analyst and hacker. A girl free from the watchful eye of her FBI superiors and put into the hands of Mr. Church, a man known for taking risks and letting things get messy on occasion. Now as she holds the box she can't help but feel different. She doesn't know where she stands in the CIA, she realizes Church is an asshole and a very powerful Russian mob affiliate leader wants her dead. While she can't remember, yet, everything that happened in the laundry facility Barney and his team took her from, she knows it's changed her. And Barney, he's just another way her life as changed. The man who saved her life could be her father, the man she always wondered about. Lissa doesn't get herself a chance to change her and rips the box open pulling out the dye bottle. Her life has changed, it's time she does too.

It's lunchtime when Lissa strolls down from her upstairs bedroom. Billy, Barney and a man she doesn't know are sitting at the table eating sub sandwiches from wax paper wrappers. There's a flash of confusion on Billy's face before he places her with the newly dyed hair combined with the haircut.

The other man shrugs, "I can see it now." He says to Barney before taking another bite of his sandwich.

"See what?" Lissa asks him.

"That we're related." Barney tells her and then holds out a wrapped sandwich to her, "We guessed and got steak and cheese."

Lissa takes the sandwich and sits down at the table in between Billy and the other man. "And you are?" She asks as she unwraps the sandwich.

"Lee Christmas." He tells her and offers out a hand to shake, which she does, "But we met before love, at the laundry facility."

"Things are kind of jumbled." Lissa explains.

"Face it Lee you just aren't that handsome that every woman remembers you." Barney taunts with a laugh.

Lissa can't help but laugh along too. Sure, Lee Christmas is attractive and would stand out in a crowd, but he doesn't stand out in her memory. She grabs a knife from the center of the table, casting a glance in Billy's direction making sure to smile so he knows she's okay and begins to cut her sub.

"No, no, no." Lee says looking to her shaking his head, "You're using that knife all wrong. Barney really you stand for this?" He takes the knife from Lissa's hand and begins to demonstrate the proper use for the knife.

"He likes his knives, a lot." Billy whispers to her with a laugh, "We all kind of have things we specialize in, knives is Lee's."

Lissa hadn't put much thought into Barney's team of men. It makes sense that they all have things they specialize in rather than being muscle for hire like most of Sedov's men. "And your specialty?"

"I'm The Expendables very own sniper." Billy answers.

"Expendables huh?" Lissa asks and then takes a bit of her just cut sub. She chews thinking the name over, "I can see how it works." She says looking to Barney. From what she knows about him, he doesn't seem like the type to jump onto of a grenade if it meant saving his team.

Barney shrugs, "We all figured it sounded badass." He replies, "You'll meet the rest of the team soon enough. Toll Road is our demolitions expert; he would have been impressed with how you destroyed the server back in Miami."

A look of confusion spreads across Lissa's face and a memory comes to her. She's locked in a room with multiple computer screens and everything is blurry from the drugs, but she can make out Barney standing above her. The memory skips forward because she's no on her feet covering a computer tower in vodka. "Right." She says softly with a nod.

"Yin lives up to the stereotype and is pretty bad ass at martial arts." Billy chimes in.

"Gunnar is a total lunatic." Lee explains, "Supposedly a genius, but a crazy one."

"That juts leaves Hale Caesar." Barney says, "If there's a crazy weapon out there, he owns it. If he dreams it up he finds a way to have it created."

"You have to admit that zip line was hardcore." Billy says looking to Lee and Barney.

Their conversation shifts away from her and to Caesar's zip line shooting gun to other random weapons. She's lost towards the start of the conversation and just eats her sandwich as she listens. Something about sitting at this mismatched table listen to them talk about weapons and past missions seems kind of normal. It seems like something the dark haired Lissa Hollis would do.


	11. Chapter 11: The FBI Deal

**Authors Note:** A big thank you to everyone who has read and especially those who have reviewed so far. I have some big things planned for Lissa and The Expendables, I hope you'll enjoy.

* * *

"You didn't have to do this." Lissa says to Billy as he drives his pickup truck out from the gravel driveway leading up to Barney's farm house. When the lunch conversation drifted back to her, Barney said she should go into town to buy things to make her stay more comfortable. She had planned to go with him till a call from Caesar came about needing Lee and Barney to check out some new equipment a supplier was bringing into town.

With her appearance different and no known Russian mob friends in the area, Barney deemed it safe for her to go into town with Billy. With the stipulation both went armed and constantly checked in with him.

"I don't mind." Billy tells her, "It beats sitting around in their friend Tool's tattoo parlor. That's where they go for the weapons hook up. Tool's a good guy, but he gives me the creeps."

Lissa looks at him in disbelief, "You're an Expendable and you mean to tell me a tattooist gives you the creeps?" She asks him trying not to laugh.

"If you met him you'd understand." Billy tells her, "Trust me."

Silence falls around them as he drives towards a large town outside of New Orleans that Barney said would be a good fit for the shopping trip. Billy knew the area and it was away from a lot of the chaos of downtown New Orleans at night.

"Basements." Lissa says to Billy, keeping her gaze outside the window of the car.

"What?" Billy asks looking to her.

"Basements give me the creeps. I just don't like them, day or night." She explains with a shrug, "I was seeing this guy till I found out he lived in his parent's basement. I could stand a bedroom in his parent's house, but a basement? Total deal breaker."

Billy starts laughing, shaking his head, "Isn't the hacker stereotype to live in a basement pumped up on soda and energy drinks?"

"Isn't it a mercenary stereotype to not be scared of people?" Lissa counters.

"Touché, Hollis, touché." Billy tells her and then pulls into a parking lot of a small plaza with a Best Buy, Target and a discount clothing store. "So this is it. It's about as modern as some of the old towns around here get."

In the clothing store, Lissa leaves the dressing room with several things she's chosen to buy in her arms. Billy put up with her testing out electronic, after electronic in Best Buy as well as through aisle after aisle grabbing things in Target and he lugged most of the bags without a complaint. Even now in the large clothing store, he gave her space but kept a watchful eye. She finds him a few displays over, looking at a locked display case of sunglasses.

"I think that's everything." Lissa tells him; with the amount of money she's spent tonight she's made a good dent in her run money. She knows when it's time to call it quits with the spending, especially since she doesn't know when she'll have a chance to access her other bank accounts. "See something?"

Billy takes his gaze away from the display case, "I was just admiring the new Ray Bans. They fold in half, it's pretty cool. Too expensive for me though, in my line of work they'd be broken in a day." He tells her with a small laugh. He looks to the armful of clothes and holds his hands out to her, "Let me take those. You sure you don't want to buy out the store? I thought that kid at Best Buy was going to cry when the total came up for your purchase."

Lissa hands the clothes over with a smirk, "My computers got trashed, and it takes a lot to build up a system like mine." She explains and then feels at her pants pocket, "Oh I left my Chap Stick in the dressing room. Why don't you start checking out and I'll meet you up front." She pulls out what should be enough to cover the bill with some leftover and hands it over to Billy.

She sees him mentally debate the idea of letting her out of his sight, "Alright, but be quick." He tells her as he takes the money. Lissa heads towards the dressing room, but stops at a customer service desk nearby. "Who do I see about buying a pair of sunglasses from the display case?"

After checking out, Billy brings Lissa to a nearby Italian restaurant that he loves. They managed to snag a booth on the outdoor patio allowing them to enjoy the warm breeze.

"So you doing okay?" Billy asks Lissa after they place their orders.

Lissa plays with the straw in her soda, stabbing the end of it at ice cubes as she thinks the answer over. "Not going to draw a knife on anyone or anything, so alright." She tells him.

"I didn't mean it like that." Billy's quick to say, "I just mean…" He fumbles for the words, "I just want you to know I'm here. When I got hurt by Vilian and nearly died, as I recovered I felt alone. I felt like no one could understand what I had been through. I started to hate the world around me and everything in it."

"Is that why Daisy perfume girl isn't in the picture anymore?" Lissa asks him looking up from her soda.

It takes Billy a second to register who she's talking about and then a sad smile forms on his face, "Yeah. Sophia didn't like that I changed, that I was different. She became bitter and I became cynical and hateful. It was toxic all around until one day she left. I hated her for the longest time for it."

"And now?" Lissa asks him.

"Now…now I realize she did what was right for her. She deserves to be with someone who doesn't know the horror I know." Billy then takes a long sip of his beer and signals to their waiter he wants another.

Lissa lowers her gaze, maybe mentioning Sophia wasn't a good idea. While Billy just said he's over Sophia his actions say otherwise. Or maybe she's just pushed too far, after spending most of her time with computers; she had a habit of pushing boundaries. "So I didn't go to the FBI and later the CIA willingly. I allegedly have a long trail of cybercrimes attached to my name. I got busted by an undercover FBI agent who hired me to hack into Harvard's system and change his admission status to accepted instead of denied. They gave me a choice, five years working for them or jail." She shares. While it doesn't come close to what he just shared about what he went through when he was attacked, she hopes it counts for something.

"You seemed like the type who took money from big businesses and gave it to charities." Billy tells her, "Not the for-hire-hacker type."

"Helping charities doesn't pay the bills. Though there are a few animal shelters who received some large donations over the years. Oh and the Polar Bear Fund." Lissa tells him with a small laugh.

The waiter brings their meals and as they eat the two start discussing random things. Favorite colors, embarrassing childhood stories, pets they had growing up and other trivial things that didn't really matter. With the meal and dessert over the two head for the pick-up truck.

"So here." Lissa says reaching into her pocket pulling out the small bag from the clothing store.

Billy takes the bag, curiously, and pulls out the Ray Ban sunglass case, "You bought these for me?" He asks in disbelief, "I only mentioned I liked them." He says pulling them from the case and looking them over.

"I noticed." She shrugs, "I just wanted to say thank you."

"You didn't have to do this." Billy tells her as he toys with the sunglasses, folding and unfolding them. There's a smile on his face as he looks them over.

"And don't say you can't keep them, I bought a total coverage warranty." Lissa says to him and climbs into the passenger seat of the truck.

As Billy climbs into the truck with the new sunglasses on top of his head, he can't help but think Sophia never paid attention to the little things he liked.


	12. Chapter 12: Wandering

Barney wakes up with a start and instinctively reaches for the pistol he kept beside his bed. Something woke him from sleep and he isn't sure what. The screen door downstairs is opening and closing, each time with a squeak from the rusty springs. He can hear the wind blowing hard outside and begins to lay back when he remembers he latched the screen door when Lissa got back from shopping with Billy.

He climbs out of bed, gun in hand, and heads down the hall to Lissa's room. He flicks the light on and finds her bed empty. "Shit." Barney says and heads for the stairs. He didn't hear a car, which means whoever took Lissa is on foot. If he just heard the screen door, they are close. He gets outside and in the distance can see Lissa. She's in a pair of pajama shorts and long t-shirt with her hair blowing in the wind. There's not a person in sight.

"Lissa." He calls and jogs to catch up with her. The gravel that makes up the driveway digs into the soles of his bare feet as he goes after her. "Lissa." He says louder this time now, but she doesn't flinch.

Barney gets in front of her and finds her eyes open but in a blank stare. "Lissa." He repeats again as she walks into him, but she only looks up at him with a blank stare. He can't figure out what is wrong with her, so he grabs her and puts her over his shoulder. Once he gets her inside he'll call someone, maybe Tool, who may know what's wrong with her.

As he gets into the house, he hears Lissa gasp as her head hangs over his shoulder. She begins to struggle in his arms. A blow to his kidneys from her makes him wince, "Alright, alright settle down." He tells her and puts her onto her feet.

Lissa's looking at him with a look of confusion and panic on her face. "What were you doing?"

"Draggin' you back in after you started staggering around like a zombie." Barney explains.

The panic and confusion leave her face and is replaced with a knowing look. "Do you know where I was going? How far did I get?"

"Halfway down the driveway." Barney answers, "And hell if I know where you were going. Care to explain?"

"You want a drink?" Lissa asks and heads for the kitchen.

They sit at the kitchen table, Barney drinking a beer while Lissa settles on a bottle of water.

"So I was wandering." Lissa tells him, "It's a disorder, dissociative fugue state. It first happened when my Mom died. It was in a temporary foster home and they found me hours later sitting outside the movie theater my Mom and I went to. I couldn't remember doing it but they thought I had just run away. Then it kept happening, going to places my Mom and I went to. They had to lock me in my bedroom. I eventually stopped and figured I outgrew it."

"Till now." Barney adds in for her, "So you don't remember any of it?"

She takes another sip of her water before answering, "None of it. It's like sleep walking but the next level up. Being held captive must have set it off again."

A look of sadness crosses Barney's face. Lissa can tell he feels bad for the years she spent in foster care and now the days with the Russians. Maybe things would have turned out differently if he had stuck around.

"What helped the first time was I accepted my Mom was gone. For a while I kept thinking she had taken off with you, well not you, but the spy I imaged my father to be. So the wandering made sense, I was going to places we went to in hopes she'd be there or a message would be there." Lissa says, "Maybe now I'm trying to run from the Russians."

"Why would you run? Here is as un-Russian as it gets. Except for the vodka, Toll keeps around." Barney asks.

"The truth?" Lissa asks as she looks down at the chipped and stained table top. "Truth is I'm scared of what will happen if they find me. If I have to face them again. And it's not even them, it's anyone else. Two of Sedov's men dragged me from my hotel room and I didn't even slow them down. You wouldn't even break a sweat doing it; I'd be surprised if you couldn't do it in your sleep."

"Well there's a problem I can fix." Barney tells her. There's a small look of happiness in his eyes as he begins to share his idea, "I'll help you become a little more like me. Someone capable of taking down a couple of Russian goons without breaking a sweat."

"What are you going to do? Have me beat up Yin or Billy? Both of them could have me on the floor in seconds." Lissa protests.

"Yin, yeah Yin would do that. But Billy and even all the others? You could take them if you're prepared for it. You're smaller than them. You can become faster and learn to fight smarter and you don't need to be bigger." Barney tells her, "People will underestimate you because you're a girl and because you don't look strong. You use that to your advantage and even someone like Gunnar doesn't stand a chance."

Lissa thinks the idea and Barney's words over, it does make sense. And if she's going to learn fighting from anyone, it might as well be The Expendables. "Alright. It would be beneficial to learn and maybe it will stop the wandering." She tells him. She eyes the pistol Barney had set down on the countertop, "Can we shoot things too? The CIA only let me learn the basics and that was only because I was going undercover."

A look of delight crosses Barney's face, "Best part of owning a farm out here, no one complains about the gun fire." He tells her, "By the time you go back to the CIA you'll be a better shot than half the office."

Smiling Lissa gets up from the table, "You know how screwed up we sound right now right?" She asks him, "We're bonding over teaching me how to fight and shoot guns." She then laughs, "It's a hell of a lot better than the coin collecting, rose pruning and dog showing my foster Dad's tried to show me."

"Weapons, explosives and fighting sound so much better, much more practical." Barney tells her with a small laugh. "Something tells me the foster care system wouldn't like me very much."

Lissa laughs, "Grab a chair will you? You're going to have to lock me in my room tonight if you don't want me wandering some more." She then laughs, "Foster care would really love that one."

Barney tosses his empty beer can into the trash and grabs one of the kitchen table chairs. He follows Lissa upstairs. Once in her room he goes to shut the door, "If you need anything just yell for me." He tells her.

"Hey Barney?" Lissa asks as she sits down on her bed, "For what it's worth you're definitely cooler than the foster Dads."

The comment causes Barney to smile as he shuts the door and props the kitchen chair against it. He pauses outside the door, listening to Lissa get settled and then heads down to his own room. Maybe things with Lissa around won't be so bad after all.


	13. Chapter 13: The Expendables School

**Authors Note: This chapter was influenced by the third episode of the TV show _Stars Earn Stripes_.**

* * *

"Now what are you thinking?" Lee asks Lissa as she's held by Caesar who has an arm around her waist and another by her collar bone. When word got out to the rest of The Expendables team a couple of days ago that Barney was helping Lissa with fighting skills soon everyone was volunteering to help. Her ears still have a slight ringing to them after Toll demonstrated how to set a charge of dynamite. Gunnar had to join in showing her how to use household chemicals to make an explosion. That lesson left her hesitant of using too many products in the bathroom.

"About breathing." Lissa replies back as she struggles in Caesar's grip. While she's already sweating from her struggle, Caesar's standing there with a relaxed look on his face.

Lee nods, "Now the best thing to do in a situation like this is force your attackers weight onto one knee." Lee tells her, "So force your weight to one side."

It takes her a couple of tries but she manages to force most of her body weight to Caesar's left side.

"Good, now kick at the left knee. While he's strong having your weight on that side makes that knee vulnerable." Lee coaches, "You'll make the knee buckle giving you a chance to escape."

Lissa follows Lee's instructions and she has to give props to Caesar because he lets her use the move. She stumbles out his grip and takes a few steps forward.

"Now the best thing to do…." Lee begins to tell her and grabs ahold of both of her wrists as he stands behind her, "Is a little one-two action. One is delivering a blow to the kidneys, here." He guides one of her fists to a spot on Caesar's lower back. "And two is to hit right in the throat." He guides her other hand there. "The kidney shot causes pain and the throat shot will bring them to their knees, allowing you to escape."

Lissa nods in agreement. She likes Lee as a teacher; he keeps things easy and explains everything. Though she won't be taking up his offer for a knife lesson any time soon, something tells her he's a lot stricter with knives than he is punches.

"Now try it." Lee says and let's go of her hands.

Caesar grabs her, this time a lot more aggressive than before. The arm that went around her collar bone is now around her throat. There's enough pressure that she feels a lack of air but not enough to cause her to fully panic. Instinct and her training kick in and she finds herself shifting her weight to Caesar's left side. It takes a few kicks but she gets a shot at his left knee. This time instead of stumbling a few steps away, she spins around hitting Caesar in the kidneys lightly before tapping his throat. She jumps back a few steps and sees both men are smiling.

"Barney Ross' daughter for sure." Caesar tells her and gives her a high five, "Now I'm not only a good practice dummy, but I managed to hook your Dad up with something pretty sick. Let's just say you'll be thanking Uncle Caesar for this one. Come on." He heads out of the barn where The Expendables plane is held along with their prep area and weapons storage.

Lissa shoots a panicked glance towards Lee, "What should I be expecting? Grenades that shoot razor blades? A gun that lets you swing around cities like Spiderman?"

"Don't give him any ideas, kid." Lee says shaking his head. He crosses the room opening a storage locker and pulls out a smaller sized bullet proof vest, "It is Yin's, should fit, maybe it'll be a little tight. But take this just in case." He says handing the vest over and pats her shoulder.

Lissa pulls the vest on and as she heads out of the barn to catch up with Caesar, she tries her hardest to hide the look of partial fear on her face. Caesar leads her about a hundred feet from the barn and to a pile of sandbags out in the field. Barney's sitting on top of the sandbags, sipping a beer.

"How'd Lee's lesson go?" Barney asks her and he puts the beer down, out of the way. He had gotten a kick out of the guys all helping out. It became clear they enjoyed sharing their knowledge with her.

"Very informative." Lissa tells him. She eyes the large gun propped up on the sandbags overlooking a field of targets. The gun looks familiar to her; it's definitely straight from an action movie. "What is that Gunnar's hand gun?" Lissa asks, earning a laugh from both Barney and Caesar.

"It's an M2 Browning .50 caliber." Barney explains, "More often known as the Ma Duece. It's the type of gun you want on top of tanks."

Caesar, who had been loaded ammunition into the gun, turns to her, "In other words it's one of the most bad ass guns out there." He tells them.

Lissa follows Barney over to the gun, feeling her palms growing sweaty. The gun looks big even around Caesar, so it must weigh at least half of her weight if not more. Suddenly a knife lesson with Lee doesn't sound so bad.

"Alright. You'll want these in a minute" Barney says and then hands over a pair of earplugs to her, "To charge this gun it takes a lot of strength." He says gesturing to the lever on one side of the gun, "So don't feel bad if you don't get it on the first try. Once it's charged, you're good to go. Take a few practice shots on the hay bales straight ahead then move onto the targets." Barney tells her.

Lissa grabs ahold of the lever to the Ma Duece and pulls. While it takes a little muscle, she manages to pull the lever back on the first try. The action is met with looks of astonishment from both men.

"Don't tell Toll you got it on the first try." Caesar tells her.

Smirking she puts the foam earplugs in and readies herself behind the gun. Barney's behind her with a pair of binoculars in hand. She had practiced using a sniper rifle with Billy and Gunnar the other day so she knows Barney is spotting her, letting her know if she's shooting too high or low.

"Ready." Barney tells her and pats her on the shoulder.

Lissa sucks in a breath and fires the gun. She can feel the power behind the weapon, it doesn't kick back as much as the shot gun she had used with Barney last night, but it's a strong weapon. After firing half a dozen shots she gets a handle for the weapon and takes on the targets. For the most part she's only a little off and with Barney's guidance manages to hit them. She ends up having to reload at one point and has the same luck charging the weapon as the first time. With all the targets down she stops firing and pulls the earplugs out. "So?" She asks.

She must have been so caught up in firing and hitting the targets that she didn't even hear Billy come up. He's standing back with Caesar, both with looks of appreciation on their faces. She can't help but notice Billy is wearing the Ray Ban's she bought him.

"Very impressive." Barney tells her he then looks to Caesar and Billy for their opinions. Caesar is positive but wants to see her aim better. Billy's comments make her blush.

"Her firing that it's just…..wow…just wow." Billy says.

"Charging it too, did you see that?" Caesar says nudging Billy.

"Classes done for the day?" Billy asks looking to Barney who nods, "Lissa, I was wondering if you'd want to grab some dinner."

"I'd love to. Just let me shower first." Lissa tells him.


	14. Chapter 14: Owns More Than A Shot Gun

"So this is what normal people do?" Lissa asks Billy with a laugh as they walk out of a movie theater, they had just seen a comedy that was advertised as a box office hit. They both laughed throughout the movie and enjoy it. A couple other movies had gotten out around the same time so there's a crowd of people heading for the exit.

"Why yes, I believe so." Billy tells her, wrapping an arm around her waist to avoid them being separated in the crowd. Once outside the crowd dies down but still lingers, "There's a burger place down the street if you're hungry."

"Starving, who knew going to Expendables School could make you so hungry." She tells him with a laugh.

Billy leads the way down the street, keeping his arm around her, "You're a bit of a natural. Sure some of your skills are unpolished, but you hold a lot of potential." He tells her, "Everyone's impressed. Especially when word gets out about how you can charge the Ma Duece with no problem."

"It wasn't so hard." Lissa says to him with a shrug, "Maybe you boys just have weak hands."

"I'm just saying a girl who spends hours on end on a computer shouldn't have hand muscles that strong." Billy teases.

Lissa pulls away from him, faking to be offended, "It isn't all sitting around fun and games hacking. Sometimes you're hanging suspended from a ceiling as you crack an internal vault code while avoiding floor lasers. Not that I've done that. But tell you what; let's not plan to go to the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, like ever."

"Lissa Hollis, you surprise me every day, multiple times actually." Billy says with a laugh and opens the door to Hal and Son's Burgers.

With a basket of fries, a couple drinks in front of them and burgers in hand, Lissa and Billy sit at an outdoor table eating their meal.

"So hacking how'd you get into it?" Billy asks.

Lissa shrugs, "The first foster home I was in, I had a foster brother, Derek. He was a few years older and didn't seem happy at his parent's house like me, so instantly that made him cooler. For a while he got sick of me being around but one day caved and showed me what he was doing on his computer. He then realized he could pretend to be playing educational games with me or going over homework and his parents wouldn't harp on him for being on the computer for hours. It all just clicked." Lissa shares, "I realized I was really good on my own when Derek was brought in for questioning by the police because they believed he hacked into the principal's computer. While they were about to search his computer I managed to hack in and delete all the files. After that Derek taught me everything he knew and I just kept improving."

"Does Church know you're this much of a criminal?" Billy asks her in a joking tone. "Because I think the CIA has a policy against criminals."

Lissa can't help but laugh, "Church has a long list of alleged crimes. They can't prove any of them were me." She grabs a fry from the basket, "What about you? Always wanted to be a military sniper?"

"Veterinary, actually." Billy tells her, "As a kid I loved animals. If I found a bird with a broken wing I brought it home or a chipmunk wounded by a cat. I brought them home and tried my hardest to get them back good as new. So becoming a vet was kind of always the plan, but the my parents had money problems so going to college wasn't an option. I joined the army figuring I'd do my duty then have the army pay for my schooling. Then I found out I was good at being a sniper. It was just kind of something I fell into and it stuck."

"Ever think of walking away and becoming a vet?" Lissa asks.

Billy takes a sip of his soda, "I did a couple of times when things got messy and when I got stabbed. But doing my job now just seems to matter more to me. How about you? If you weren't a hacker extraordinaire what would you be?"

"I like books." Lissa says, "I'd spend hours with my Mom taking turns reading chapters out loud. So maybe I would have ended up a book reviewer or working at a publishing company. A boring desk job." She tells him, "I'd of course have to own a dog, a German Shepard, so I'd have an excuse to talk to the cute Vet in my town, Dr. Billy Timmons."

"You wouldn't need an excuse." Billy says.

Billy pulls his pick-up truck up to Barney's farm house and looks to Lissa, "I had a really good time."

"Me too." Lissa tells him, "It was nice to feel normal for once."

"You up for one more normal thing?" Billy asks, but before she can answer he leans over and kisses her. Lissa kisses him back; being normal does feel rather nice.

The kiss ends after about a minute and she reaches for the truck door with a smile on her face, "You ought to be careful, Billy The Kid, my Dad's inside and he owes a lot more than a shot gun." She teases with a laugh.

"You think I'm going to have to do that whole awkward meet the dad kind of thing?" Billy asks her.

Lissa bites her lower lip and thinks about it. She didn't have much experience in the boyfriend meeting the parent's thing. She kept to herself in the foster homes and made a habit not to bring boys around. She was at the prime dating age of 16 when she hacked her way out of the foster care system by changing her birthday, so she's never had a boy she likes meet a parent. Let alone a parent like Barney. "I'm going to have to get back to you on that one." She tells him, "We really haven't had the whole what-parental-rights-do-you-want conversation yet."

"I'll hold you to it. Or else I may just have to go to veterinary school and get you a dog." Billy tells her. Lissa smiles to him as she shuts the truck door and heads up the stairs to the farmhouse.


	15. Chapter 15: Pitch Black

When Lissa wakes up the next day she's still happy from the night before. She finds it odd that the sun is shining so bright so early. Barney had taken to waking her up early every morning for Expendables school. She rolls over in bed, finding the clock to read just past noon. Confused she climbs out of bed, grabbing a sweatshirt off the computer chair before heading for the door. She reaches for the door knob but stops in her tracks. She doesn't have a computer chair. She turns around finding a black leather computer chair tucked into a beat up dark brown desk. The bar stool that served as her nightstand is gone and replaced with a cherry colored actual nightstand. All three items weren't there when she went to bed the night before.

"Barney?" Lissa calls after opening the door to her room. The chair he used to prop her door shut at night is gone, which means he's awake.

"Good your up." Barney calls from downstairs. A minute later he's climbing up the stairs with a grin on his face, "What do you think?" He asks gesturing to the new furniture, "I wanted to set everything all up for you but that tangled web of computer equipment you've got on the dresser is way over my head."

"You bought me furniture?" She asks him, "That's pretty normal Dad like, I hope you know."

The comment gets her a laugh from Barney, "I just figured you could use a little normal too. Maybe having it feel like a room will make it seem more home like here? I don't know."

Lissa can't help but smile now, "Barney Ross if I didn't know any better I'd say you were going soft on me." She teases, "I love it, and I really do."

"Good because I was starting to worry you hunching over those laptops in bed was going to cause back problems. Shooting Ma Duece's does enough back strain as it is, you don't need anymore." He tells her. "I'm about to put some ribs on the grill, you hungry?"

"Sound great." Lissa says, "I'll get changed and come downstairs."

Barney nods and heads out of her room, shutting the door behind him.

Lissa can't help but smile as she takes the room in. The farmhouse is starting to feel like home, much more than D.C did. After changing she finds herself moving her computer equipment over to her new desk. She can smell the ribs cooking on the grill out back, with her window open, which makes her even hungrier. With the last of the computer stuff moved she grabs a pair of slip on shoes and sits down to put them on. As she does so notices her prepaid cell phone has the notification light blinking. There's a new text from Billy.

"Good morning Lissa. Hope you slept well. I really enjoyed last night." The text reads.

Her smile grows wider as she reads it over a few more times. "I had a great time last night too. Just got up, slept very well. Going to talk to Barney today, might want to wear a bullet proof vest just in case. Kidding. Actually not sure about that." She replies and then tosses the phone on her bed.

After finding Barney planning on just serving ribs for lunch, Lissa retreated from the backyard to the kitchen to make a side dish to go along with the meal. Barney doesn't keep much in the house so she's delighted when she finds a box on instant mashed potatoes. As they cook she uses a couple different spices from a spice rack that was on top of the fridge to help make the bland taste a little better. Easy to make foods, like mashed potatoes, are staples in her diet when she's in the middle of a long hack.

"Whatcha make?" Barney asks curiously as he sets a platter of ribs down on rusted patio table on the deck attached to the back of the house.

"Mashed potatoes." She tells him as she sets the pan down, "Clearly one of the most important foods out there."

A sad smile comes across Barney's face, "Your Mom would always order ribs and mashed potatoes. It use to drive me crazy. I'd bring her to a decently nice restaurant and all she'd want was something we could easily make at home. I'd tell her to get a seafood dish but nope she wanted ribs and mashed potatoes."

Lissa can't help but smile now too, "Whenever we went somewhere we'd hunt down a place with good ribs." She tells him, "Mom loved seafood but hated the smell of it cooking, but it was rare for her to get anything other than ribs."

A quiet lull falls over them as they eat. Barney pours her a glass of sweet tea he had bought the night before. One thing New Orleans had over D.C is the sweet tea was five times better.

"So I've been wondering about what Church said a few nights back. About the deal you made with the FBI." Barney begins, "I just, you know, wanted to make sure you weren't in trouble."

She can see the protective nature in Barney in the moment, a nature that makes him a great leader for the team. "It wasn't anything bad." Lissa tells him, "Got busted hacking Harvard in a sting operation. They offered me a consultant job over jail time."

Barney nods and drops a now meatless rib back onto his plate. "I was worried it was something worse." He tells her. "I worry that while you clearly got your mothers taste in food that you got more than my skill with weapons. I have a tendency of letting revenge and vengeance cloud my mind. Taking down someone who hurt me or someone on my team becomes the only thing I can think about. I don't want that for you. The fact that you aren't back hacking, or whatever it is, Sedov right now shows that maybe you didn't get that skill from me."

The near guilt in his tone makes Lissa stop eating and look down at her plate. "I did inherit that." Lissa tells him and then looks up at him, "The drunk driver who hit my Mom was some rich big-wig financial consultant. He paid off a judge to make the charges disappear. He killed her and he walked away. I didn't figure it out to till a few years later, but always thought it was weird that there was no court to go to or even a settlement made in my name. You know? I lost my Mom, I had no one. I found out the truth when I was fifteen and was doing some investigative hacking. After that I was so angry that I set out against him."

Her words make Barney stop eating too and he sits there listening without a judgmental look on his face.

"I hacked my way out of the foster care system and got out on my own. After spending a few years changing grades for kids I had enough money to be on my own. From there I just started doing little things to make him think he was going crazy. Cancel meetings, move his car down a few spots in the garage and even move things around his house. I wanted him to feel completely helpless like I felt when the police picked me up at the sleepover party and told me my Mom was dead. It worked for a while and then one night he got into another drunk driving accident. This time it was only a telephone pole, not a person, but what about the next time? He paid off that police officer who responded and it all went away. Or so he thought." Lissa pauses, thinking about what comes next. She hadn't admitted doing any of this to anyone other than Derek, he former foster brother and that was only because she needed his help with the hacking. "I upped the antics to make him think he was crazy. I then hacked investments in by him that were bad ones. I created a paper trail leading back years. His clients lost money and he lost money too. I bankrupted him, taking all of his money. When he claimed someone had set him up the months of crazy like behavior came back to haunt him, his wife had him committed. I destroyed his life the way he destroyed mine. If the FBI or CIA found this out, I'd be locked up for years. So I took the deal when I hacked Harvard to keep them from nosing around."

Barney takes a minute to think his words over, "Are you proud of it?" He asks her.

"I'm proud that I took someone like him off the streets." Lissa answers.

"That's the difference between you and I." Barney tells her, "You take pride in doing the right thing. I take pride in the kill."


	16. Chapter 16: The Compass

**Authors Note: In honor of Labor Day I figured I might as well release another chapter. This chapter contains one of my favorite scenes between Billy and Lissa. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Early the following morning, Lissa was awoken to the sound of Barney knocking loudly on the door informing her The Expendables had a mission in Cuba and she had to come along since he didn't want to leave her alone in Louisiana.

Sitting on The Expendables plane, she can't help but notice everyone seems tired. Caesar is attempting to brew coffee towards the back of the plane, cursing every time the turbulence makes the coffee pot stop brewing. Lin had grabbed a couple dozen doughnuts for them and Gunnar sits with four on his lap and another in his mouth. The late nights and early mornings is the one part of life as an Expendable Lissa doesn't think would work for her. But today's mission to stop a Cuban cartel from finalizing a weapon capable of airborne warfare took priority over sleep.

She's resting her head against a small window, trying to catch a few minutes of sleep when Billy sits down on the bench beside her.

"Tired?" Billy asks her as he shakes a small container of orange juice he must have brought with him. Like the rest of the team he's dressed in black combat gear with various side arms already holstered to his hip and upper thigh. He looks a lot more like Barney, like a highly dangerous man, right now than he does normally. The Billy who took her out last night in his tan cargo shorts and white v-neck had a look of innocence to him, unlike the Billy before her. All of The Expendables onboard the plane have grown a little more dangerous and a little less friendly since the mission was accepted.

"Think I kept wandering last night." Lissa tells him, taking her gaze from the plane window to him, "I'm usually pretty tired after it happens.

Billy looks over his shoulder to see if anyone is paying attention to them and then pulls a silver necklace from his pocket, "Well in case you do wander somewhere one of these nights, now you'll be able to find your way back." He says and puts the necklace into her hand. He doesn't get to say a word more because Barney announces they are close to Cuba and to start doing final weapons checks. Billy gives her a quick half smile before heading back to the middle of the plane to inspect his sniper rifle.

Lissa looks over the necklace in her hand. It's a silver chain with a small silver compass on it. With it about the size of a quarter she doesn't expect it to work, but she finds the needle inside is working. On the back there's a set of coordinates inscribed that make her curious. When the plane is on the ground she'll have to look them up. She hooks the necklace around her neck, letting the compass be hidden by the cut of her button up dark purple tank top.

Lee must be flying the plane because a minute later Barney makes a detour in front of her before picking up weapons from Caesar.

"We're landing the plane far out of the way. You'll stay here with the plane locked up tight." Barney tells her and then hands over an earpiece and a pistol, "The earpiece is so you don't get bored, you can hear everything we're doing. The pistol is just in case."

Lissa accepts both items from him, "Don't leave the plane, don't' do anything stupid and shoot strangers." Lissa tells him, "That about covers it right?"

"Right." Barney says and then heads back to meet Caesar.

With the team off to shut down the Cuban cartel's weapons factory, she opens up one of her laptops she grabbed before they left. Within seconds she has a map up and plugs in the coordinates from the compass necklace. An overhead image from a satellite reveals it to be a farmhouse just outside of New Orleans. She recognizes the large barn in the middle of the property once she sees the white skull painted on the roof. She had learned about the painted skull when Toll brought her up there to demonstrate a long range grenade shooter. "Good one Billy." Lissa whispers softly, even though there was no need to whisper, Barney had given her an earpiece that was programed to only let her listen.

Minutes into the team arriving at the high school the Cuban's had taken over for the purpose of building their weapon there's a lot of trouble for The Expendables. There were much more men that the hirer reported and booby traps all around the property. The earpieces suddenly cut out and are replaced with a crackling static. Curious Lissa pulls up the frequency finding that someone, another hacker, has jammed the signal.

"Not cool buddy, not cool." Lissa says and then begins the process to transfer their earpieces to another signal. The Expendables were separated into smaller teams to breach the building, without a way to communicate there's no way for them to know what's going on with the other teams. She's finalizing securing the signal feed when she hears shouts from everyone else, "Everyone there?" She asks, she also took a second to reprogram her earpiece to allow her to be heard.

She hears Barney about to say her name but he quickly stops himself, "Hacker?" He asks, she knows he wouldn't call her Kid over the earpieces since he often referred to Billy as that.

"You boys sounding like you could use a little back up." Lissa tells him, "They've got a hacker inside, that's how you got the static. They also have cameras and that's how they keep finding you."

"Show us the way and we'll take them out." Gunnar tells her.

"No needed." Lissa says as she types away on the keyboard, "Why spend all the time shooting them all when I can just change the feed…..enjoy the Kardashian re-runs pal." She says with a grin as she watches all of the cameras inside of the school change from live feed of the school to episodes of the Kardashian TV show on her laptop. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be able to isolate the camera feeds so I can see them but the people inside only see Kim and whatever else their names are."

"Good work." Barney tells her.

Gun fire and yelling fill the earpiece, but Lissa tunes it out with ease. Years of loud music in the background as she hacked have taught her to tune out the distractions and focus on the problem. She's halfway through isolating the feed when a red screen flashes on her computer. "Are you serious?" She shouts, near the level of enraged.

"What's wrong?" Barney asks, she can hear the concern in his voice. She can already picture him jumping through a window and running like hell back to the plane to fight off the attacker he's assuming is outside the plane.

"The hacker inside thinks he can hack me." Lissa says, "Oh so no happening. Camera feeds are going to have to wait. Someone needs to show this little bastard a thing or two about respect." Her fingers practically fly across the keyboard as she works to stop the hacker from getting into her system while simultaneously working to find a way into the hackers system.

It's ten minutes later when Lissa pulls back from the computer, panting for breath. She feels hot all over from working herself up in the hack. She shut the other hacker down and from the sounds of things the team is heading back to the plane. She shuts the computer, mentally telling herself to calm down, as her hands rest on top of the laptop she notices smears of black ink. "Odd." She can't help but mumble and wipe her hands on her shorts in an attempt to get rid of the ink. A pen or something must have exploded on the bench seat or something.

The side door to the plane opens and the second she sees Lee she knows something is wrong, his normally unreadable face as panic and worry all over it. Gunnar is behind him, holding an unconscious Barney in his arms. Lissa's on her feet running to Barney when Lee grabs her to stop her from getting in the way.


	17. Chapter 17: Cleaning The Code

"Let me go Lee." She demands as she watches Gunnar set Barney down on a bench seat towards the back of the plane. Billy's at Barney's side the second Gunnar steps away and Yin is grabbing a medical kit from a cabinet, "What the hell happened?"

"He got shoved backwards into the shallow end of the drained pool they were keeping the weapon in. He hit his head and is unconscious. He's alive but he has a brain injury." Lee explains and then steers her back to the bench seat she had been sitting in moments before, "You sit here and stay out of the way. The sooner we get back to Louisiana, the sooner we get his head locked at. Got it?"

Lissa nods to Lee and as he walks away she leans forward to look at the back of the plane. She watches as Billy as he sorts through the medical kit, pulling out a few random things here and there while telling Yin other things to grab.

It's an hour into the flight when Billy sits down next to her. Overall he looks drained from the events of the day. "He's stable and responsive, which is good. I think he just hit his head pretty hard and has a bad concussion." He tells her, "Toll already got in touch with Tool to get Barney medical treatment when we land. He'll be okay, I wouldn't lie to you."

Lissa nods and then wraps her arms around Billy feeling tears in her eyes, "Thank you for helping him." She tells him softly.

The plane lands at Barney's farmhouse and as soon as it's in the barn, the team is back in action. Toll goes running to the garage attached to the house to get Barney's jeep while Gunnar and Caesar move Barney onto a makeshift stretcher for easier carrying.

"Tool's friend is just north of New Orleans, a doctor with a private practice for brain injuries." Lee tells Lissa and Billy, who is standing at her side, "The doc doesn't take kindly to new faces. He knows me so I'm going to be the one taking Barney. Kid you stay here with Lissa and I'll call as soon as I know something."

"Just take care of him." Lissa says to Lee. By the look on his face he had expected her to put up a fight, but now she's just drained and wants Barney to wake up.

Toll pulls the jeep up to the barn and Gunnar and Caesar put Barney in the back. Lissa catches sight of Barney who looks like he's sleeping. But he looks too relaxed, the few times she busted Barney napping on the couch there was always a weapon nearby and his muscles ready to reach forward and grab it.

The rest of The Expendables leave shortly after Lee takes off with Barney. They had offered to stay and wait, but it's Billy who assures them the two of them will be fine. The two walk to the farmhouse's backdoor quietly. Lissa just wants a shower, something to eat and to go bed, she has the hope that she'll wake up to find Barney perfectly okay making steak and eggs like most mornings. But as soon as Billy turns the kitchen light on, her plans for the night all change.

Covering the bare wall by the kitchen table is her handwriting in black marker. The writing is all computer code, a mess of letters and numbers. It takes her tired mind a second to process it, but once she knows what it is she panics. "How long has that been there?" Lissa asks Billy as she kneels down to search the cabinet under the sink for any sort of cleaning product.

"I didn't come in the house when we got called out." Billy tells her, "I don't know. Why what is it?" He takes a step closer to look at the writing on the wall.

Lissa finds a half filled bottle of bleach and grabs a roll of paper towels, "The code for the program Sedov had me working on." She tells him and then uncaps the bleach, "It's one of the most important parts. I knew I wandered last night and this is what I did. If this got into the wrong hands…" She doesn't finish the sentence, just throws the bleach at the off-white wall. She grabs a bunch of paper towels from the roll and starts scrubbing. Billy starts helping her, without another question asked. They run out of bleach before they can make it to the lower half of the writing.

"We need more." Lissa tells him, her mind now focused on getting rid of the writing. She can't help Barney right now, but she can fix this problem. As she goes to bend down and look under the sink again, Billy grabs her arm lightly.

"We'll handle it in the morning. We're both exhausted and hungry." He tells her, "We'll clean it and I'll buy paint, I promise. The majority of it is gone, it's useless right now."

Lissa finds herself, once again, wrapping her arms around Billy. While on the plane she had to keep their contact brief, she was still testing the field with Barney to see how he'd feel about her and Billy. So she couldn't risk any of The Expendables figuring things out and going to Barney before she could. But now in the kitchen, she's just with Billy. "I thought I'd stop wandering now that I knew how to protect myself, but I'm still doing it. I've never done something like this before."

One of Billy's arms stays around her waist while the other rubs her back. "We'll figure that out in the morning too." He promises her, "Go shower, I'll make us something to eat."

Lissa is sitting on her bed, popped up against the headboard with her hair still slightly damp from showering. The door to the bathroom in her room opens and Billy comes out with damp hair and a clean t-shirt and boxers on. After coming down stairs from her shower, she found Billy cooking BLT's and a small green duffle bag at the table. Billy revealed all of The Expendables kept bags with enough supplies to last a couple of days if something went wrong. This is wear his clean clothes came from.

"You look beat Hacker." Billy tells her and gives her a small smile as he sits down on the bed by her feet.

"Have you seen yourself Sniper?" She asks him with a tired grin.

Billy's gaze goes to her prepaid cell phone that's sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. "No word yet?" He asks.

Lissa shakes her head in reply, "No news is good news right?" She asks hopefully.

"Tell you what." Billy says grabbing the two blankets and pillows she had put aside for him to use on the couch in the living room. He starts making a bed on the floor, just a few inches from her bed, "I'll sleep up here tonight. I'll catch you if you wander and if the phone rings in the middle of the night, chances are it'll wake at least one of us."

"You could sleep up here." Lissa tells him.

Billy gives her a smirk that makes her start to blush, "While I'd like that." He begins, "Barney Ross does own much more than a shot gun and well when he gets back he's going to kick ass. And I don't' want that ass to belong to me."

Lissa laughs and lies back in bed. "Probably a good choice." Once Billy's settled on the floor she turns off the lamp on the nightstand, putting the room in darkness. As she gets comfortable in bed she feels the pull on the silver compass necklace. With everything that happened, she completely forgot about the necklace. "Thank you for my present." She says to Billy as she turns onto her side so she can make out his figure on the floor, "Nobody's ever gotten me something that thoughtful before." And it's true. Her gifts in the foster homes, if they came, were always generic gifts for girls since she was never there long.

In the darkness she can make out one of Billy's arms reaching up into the bed. Even in the darkness he manages to find one of her hands and laces his fingers with hers. "I'm glad you like it." He tells her. And with that she falls asleep still holding his hand.


	18. Chapter 18: Home Renovations

It's midmorning when Lissa's phone rings on the nightstand; she groggily reaches out of bed and grabs the phone. "Hello?" The tiredness is gone from her voice when she realizes it's Lee calling.

"He's alright." Lee says, "The doc is just running a few more tests but all looks well. Just a concussion."

Lissa lets out a sigh of relief, "When will you be back?" She asks.

"By dinner time." Lee tells her, "I have to go; the doc doesn't like people on the phone."

Lissa hangs up the phone and tosses it back onto the nightstand. She looks over the edge of her bed and finds Billy's spot on the floor to be vacant. She grabs a pair of socks from top of her dresser and heads downstairs. Billy's sitting at the kitchen table; a cup of coffee is in front of him as well as his sniper rifle which he's cleaning. "You know the whole allowing guns at the table thing is something I may never get use to." She tells him with a laugh. She bends down and kisses him good morning before heading over to the coffee pot to grab a cup.

"I'm sure Lee's table is a table top, covered in knives with another table top resting on top of it." Billy tells her with a laugh and clicks the scope of his rifle back into place. "Figured I'd get a little work done while you slept. Did I hear your phone ringing?"

She smiles at the joke and takes a long sip of the coffee, "It was Lee. Barney's going to be okay. It was concussion, nothing serious. They'll be back tonight." She leans against the counter looking at the remaining writing on the wall.

Billy follows her gaze then reaches down beside him, "I found maroon paint. I figure it would look nice with the cabinets. Bunch of brushes too, pretty sure Gunnar bought it all to decorate the new plane awhile back."

Lissa turns and looks at the dark oak cabinets, she's pretty sure they are the originals to the house but someone had to of restored them. The dark oak wood has a gleam to it that looks more modern but the cabinets themselves have a dated feel. "Yeah, it'll like nice." She agrees, hoping Barney won't mind the minor renovation, "Besides I'm sure they don't sell dirty off white paint." Her glance goes back to the wall which has smears of dirty hand prints, food stains and just general wear to them.

"I think Barney will like the red and if he doesn't we'll put up some skull decals and he'll love it." Billy tells her as he gets up from the table bringing his rifle to another room.

"He does have a thing for skulls." Lissa agrees.

After setting down a tarp and putting up painters tape the two begin repainting the kitchen. The kitchen isn't too big and there aren't many tiny spaces to cover other than the foot high space between the counters and the cabinets. They focus on the wall she wrote on the night before first, wanting to see how many coats of paint it'll take to make the writing disappear.

Lissa watches as the computer code disappears with each stroke of her paint brush. She gets to one line and stops. Something about it is familiar. To her computer code is just a foreign language she's master and she begins to process it. When Billy's brush comes close to the code she grabs his wrist, "Don't."

"What?" Billy asks her.

"This." Lissa says letting go of his wrist and taping the two lines of code, "This doesn't belong here. It doesn't make sense here."

Billy looks it over and shrugs, "Looks like the rest of it." He tells her.

"Everything on the wall, except this, needs other parts to work. These two lines they could work on their own." Lissa says. Parts of it look familiar, there's a style to the code she recognizes. "I don't know why someone else's code is in mine."

Reaching behind them onto the table, Billy grabs her cell phone and takes a picture of the two lines, careful to block out the rest, "Maybe the wandering state you were in isn't perfect. You told me half the time you wandered places you didn't wear shoes or a coat. Maybe this is like that, you write wrong codes."

"Yeah maybe." Lissa answers, but part of it is bugging her. "We'll figure it out later." She wants to get the kitchen done and back and order by the time Barney gets home. And hopefully they'll have enough time to air out the fresh paint smell.

Lissa and Billy get the kitchen painted with two coats of paint, and back in order just after lunch. They head into town to get fixings for the roasted chicken dinner she wants to make for Barney. She figures a home cooked meal will do his recovery some good. They make another pit stop to buy a decent size flat screen to hang up in the kitchen. Barney usually ate in front of the TV in the living room or listened to the news on an old radio that gave off static half the time. She and Billy both agreed the kitchen was in need of a TV. They spend the rest of the afternoon sitting on the front porch, talking about silly little things. Like what he'd name his veterinary practice – Paws, Claws and Vets to why she choose to go by the hacker name of Anya – a tribute to Buffy The Vampire Slayer's vengeance demon turned human.

She's pulling the chicken out of the oven, while Billy sets the table with they hear Barney's SUV pull up front. Lissa sets the chicken down, tossing the oven mitts aside and heads straight for the front door.

Billy grabs her wrist, lightly, and spins her around. "Before they get in, I just want you to know you're beautiful." He tells her and then kisses her, "And the fact that you can cook as well as you can shoot a gun is very sexy."

"Billy Timmons, you sure know how to make a girl feel special." Lissa tells him and quickly kisses him back. They pull apart, quickly, when they hear the front door open and in walks Barney and Lee. Other than looking tired, there's nothing that looks wrong with Barney.

"Welcome home." Lissa tells him and gives him a quick hug. Like the talk about her dating Billy, she and Barney hadn't gotten around to the acceptable family affection conversation yet.

Barney gives her a quick hug back and smiles, "What smells so good?"

"Lissa made dinner." Billy answers, "Good to see you on your feet sir."

"Thanks kid," Barney tells him, patting Billy on the shoulder before heading to the kitchen.

"Oh." Lissa says grabbing Barney's arm to stop him. She's not sure how Barney will handle her minor home renovations and figures it's best to prep him, "So you know how jumping out of planes and fighting bad guys is your everyday kind of thing? Well wandering and writing top secret computer code on kitchen walls is my kind of everyday thing apparently." She says to Barney trying to make a joke out of the situation.

"Knew I smelt paint." Lee says and then walks past them into the kitchen. "Hmm, looks nice."

Barney follows Lee in without a word to Lissa or Billy, which causes the two to shoot each other a panicked look.

Lissa follows closely behind them, "If you hate it, we'll repaint it." She offers. Now feeling guilty her wandering has caused such a big problem.

"I like it." Barney tells her, "I've been meaning to repairs to the house anyways. One less thing on my list. I like this though." He tells her gesturing to the TV, which has the news on low.


	19. Chapter 19: Gideon and Anya

Dinner goes over well and everyone is in good spirits as they sit back at the table. Lee's telling a story about his time in British SAS which involved busting into a brothel. As laughter fills the kitchen a headline on the news catches her attention.

"Quiet. Quiet!" Lissa says grabbing the clicker from the center of the table and turning the volume up.

A reporter stands outside a tall brick apartment building near Boston's T.D Garden. There's police tape around the building along with offices and a crowd of people gawking. "I spoke with David Collins just a few minutes ago. He and his wife are longtime friends of the victims. He said it wasn't unusual for the couple to disappear for a week or so at time on spontaneous trips. So no alarms are raised when the couple wasn't heard from in just over two weeks. Mr. Collins says when the victims missed the standing double date they had every month, he knew something was wrong. That is when he headed up to the penthouse and discovered the bodies." The anchor says looking to the camera, "Sources are reporting that the bodies were in decomposition, leading authorities to speculate the victims were killed well over a week ago. The official time of death won't be known until autopsies are preformed, but one thing is for certain this is a case of foul play."

The screen changes to a news desk where a male anchor looks the camera dead on. "It is such a tragedy hearing about the death of Michaela Anderson and Derek Hollis. We send our condolences to their families and hope the person responsible is brought to justice. The Boston Police Department has set up an anonymous tip line and hopes of learning more as to what happened to these two young people. You can find this number at the bottom of the screen please call if you know anything." The news fades out to commercials after that.

Lissa stares blankly at the TV, feeling Barney, Lee and Billy all looking at her confused. There's a familiar pain in her head as foggy memories flash before her eyes.

One of Sedov's men is standing behind her, watching her as she works on computer code. She's tired and her mind is slow from the drugs. She has a looming fear in her stomach that she's going to die which helps silence the rumbles in her empty stomach. Her hands shake from the caffeine the man poured down her throat in hopes of making her work a little faster. While she doubts he doesn't understand the computer code on the screen, she doesn't want to risk doing anything other than writing what she's supposed to work on. It feels like it's been days that she's been waiting for a window of opportunity to send for help.

It comes that day when the man answers a knock at the door, it's another one of Sedov's men to take his lunch order. There's a rush of adrenaline in her bloodstream in that moment as she begins to type. It doesn't take her long to enter the backdoor into the computer system and leave her message. "Gideon- I've been compromised – in trouble. Location-Petrova Laundry in Miami. On my laptop is contact information for a Mr. Church. Contact him directly; trust no one else there is a leak. Send help. Do not contact. Not safe. –Anya." She gets the code sent by the time her watchdog is done placing his lunch order and she returns to finishing the code.

A few minutes later she thinks she's hallucinating from the drugs when she sees code begin to replace its self with something completely different. She pretends to keep typing but puts her attention on reading the code. None of it make sense, expect for the far too familiar style of code writing. Her distress message was received, Derek got her help. Now she needs to survive long enough for the help to arrive.

The clearer images cut out after that and are replaced with blurry ones. She closes her eyes and forces herself out of her own head. When the opens them she's back in Barney's newly repainted kitchen with him, Billy and Lee looking at her with concern on their faces. She can feel a faint layer of sweat on her skin and her head is pounding. It all makes sense now. Derek was killed a week or so after The Expendables rescued her, which gave Sedov of time to bring in another hacker to figure out how the CIA was tipped off about her location. They threatened Derek but he wouldn't give her up nor would he help them, she knows that for a fact. They killed him and Michaela was collateral damage. Derek was killed for helping her and if she had remembered what happened to her sooner she could have saved him.

"I'm going to kill him." Lissa says to them, her tone full of hate and she gets up from the table upstairs. The plan runs through her head with each step she takes. Expose what Sedov did to the other hackers; she and Derek are well liked. Together it won't take them long to find Sedov. In the meantime she'll get others to freeze his bank accounts and ground his planes. She'll force him to stay where she wants him and then once she has him, she'll kill him. She's so caught up in her revenge plan she doesn't hear Barney, Lee and Billy running after her.

Once in her room she turns on her two computers, glad she got a chance to rebuild her system. She feels shaky from remember more of what happened to her and finds herself digging through the nightstand for a bottle of Adderall. It was a bad hacker habit to use the drug to stay alert and awake for long periods of time. She preferred not to use it but sometimes hacking jobs came with unrealistic deadlines and it was needed. She kept a bottle handy just in case and it was among the things Church's team salvaged from her apartment. But now she can't seem to find it, she swore she put it in the nightstand.

"Who are you going to kill?" Barney asks her, "Do you know those people who were killed?"

"Derek Hollis is your foster brother, isn't he?" Billy asks. No one ever asked her why her last name wasn't Howard like her Mom. When she hacked her way out of the foster care system with Derek's help, she took on his last name to remind herself of the only family she knew since her Mom's death. But now Billy has pieced it together.

Lissa slams the nightstand drawer shut and heads back over to her dresser rummaging through the top drawer. She'll work better with the Adderall in her system, she needs it. "Now do you understand why?" She asks them.

"This isn't the way." Barney injects in, "I'll call Church right now, we'll find out what happened. We'll find out everything."

"Fuck Church." Lissa replies right away spinning around from the dresser, "You heard the news Derek was killed nearly two weeks after you rescued me. Sedov went looking for him to find me and when Derek didn't give me up, he killed him. I sent a distress message to Derek, not trusting the CIA because I knew there was leak. I told Derek to contact Church to send help. Church knew that there was a digital paper trail leading from me to Derek. He did nothing to protect him! Nothing! If Church gave a fuck about anyone besides himself Derek would be alive. So fuck Church." She leaves the dresser, now too angry to finish the search for the Adderall.

Lee steps towards her "Think this through kid." Lee begins to tell her, taking on the calm an authoritative voice he did in their lessons, "I am all for ripping Sedov's guts out, trust me on that one. But you need to be smart about it. Going in with a clouded head will get you killed."

But she doesn't listen to Lee she just starts typing. She doesn't get much down because Barney grabs her from behind, dragging her away from the desk.

"Billy shut it down." Barney orders, "If Sedov has a hacker looking for her…"

He doesn't need to finish because Billy's rushing to the computers, checking what she did. "Nothing was sent." Billy tells Barney. He quickly glances to Lissa with an apology basically written on his face. She can tell he doesn't like going against her. He shuts both of the computers down with Lissa watching as she struggles in Barney's grip.

"Sedov killed Derek." Lissa screams, hoping it will make Barney change his mind. She fights harder when she sees Lee go and take the power cord to the desktop and the battery out of the laptop. She finds herself growing tired as the anger fades away to sorrow and soon she's no longer fighting against Barney's grip. "It's not right. He killed Derek." Lissa cries.


	20. Chapter 20: Together

The next three days seem to blur together for Lissa. She spends most of her time in bed either sleeping or watching news coverage on Derek and Michaela's murders on the medium size TV she bought weeks ago with Billy when she first arrived at the farmhouse. She doesn't leave her room other than to sit downstairs and eat with Barney and whoever else is there. No one pushes conversation and she doesn't try to start any.

It's the night of the third day and Lissa's half asleep in bed with the TV on and she feels Barney sit down on the edge of the bed.

"I know you're awake." Barney tells her.

Lissa rolls over so she's on her side looking at him, "What?" She asks, propping her head up on one elbow.

"One of the worst things in the world is losing someone you care about. Especially when feel guilty over it." Barney tells her, "I've lost friends, Lissa, so many friends. Sometimes I was there, watching the light fade out of their eyes. And it's a terrible feeling no matter what. When Vilian stabbed Billy and we didn't know if he was going to live or not I went out for full on vengeance as you know. I wish I could order you not to go after Sedov. That I could lock you in this room till it's all over. But I have no right to do that. So if you want to go I won't stop you. If I was in your shoes I'd be out there right now hunting him down like the animal he is." He tells her.

Lissa looks at him, surprised by what she's hearing.

Barney pauses before speaking again, letting his words soak in, "But you're not me kid. You still seem some goodness in the world. I'm not going to stop you for walking out that door, but I hope you'll wait. Because if you do, I'm going to force Church's hand and let the team go after him. If you wait we'll hunt him down together and we will make him pay.

"I don't trust Church." Lissa tells him. "He let Derek get killed and Michaela, who was completely innocent. What's stopping him from leading us all into a trap? Or cutting his loses and leaving us all to die if things go wrong? I can't look at him like he's this great leader Barney."

"Church has done it before and we've all survived. Two things are different this time, from all the other missions Church has sent us on. This time we know what we're going into, nobody is going to know Sedov better than you. We have an advantage, unlike in Church's other missions." Barney tells her, "And the second, we're not taking this mission because Church is paying us or blackmailing us. We're taking it because Sedov hurt one of our own. It's personal."

Lissa thinks his words over and it all makes sense. Going after Sedov on her own, even with hackers backing her up, is suicide. She needs to be backed up by a team who specializes in crazy missions and no team is better than The Expendables. "I'll stay." Lissa tells Barney, "But when it comes down to it, I'm killing Sedov myself."

Barney nods and gets off the bed, "Good, now get up. You've got plans tonight." He then leans out the doorway of her room, "Bring her in."

A pretty brunette woman in short cocktail dress comes into the room. There's a large travel cosmetic case in one hand and a garment bag in the other. She takes one look at Lissa then looks to Barney, "It's a good thing you called me in."

"What's going on?" Lissa asks.

The woman sets her case down on Lissa's bed, "You, in the shower now. Go, go, go." She orders Lissa flinging her hands in the direction of the bathroom.

"Meet Lacy." Barney tells her and then walks out of the room.

An hour later Lissa is staring at her reflection in the mirror on the back of the door to her bedroom. Lacy, who she realizes is Lee's girlfriend that Barney always said is, cheating on Lee, is a bit of makeover queen. She's also one of those people who talks fast and has such a hyper energy you're forced to keep up with her and not ask questions. That's how Lissa found herself in a forest green sweetheart necklace dress. Her black hair has a slight curl to it, framing her face. She did manage to talk Lacy out of mimicking the woman's dramatic eye makeup on her and Lissa just has subtle traces of it.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Lissa asks looking to Lacy, whose digging through the garment bag deciding on shoes. During the whole make over all Lacy said was that if you look good, you feel good but Lissa knows there has to be another reason. Barney could have just as easily cheered her up doing another gun shooting lesson instead of having Lacy dress her up nice and the first option would be much less painful for the both of them.

Lacy hands her a pair of simple black flip flops, "Barney will kill me for telling you." She begins but then leans closer to Lissa, "But you have a hot date tonight." She tells her in a whisper.

"Who is it?" Lissa asks right away. Could Barney already know about her and Billy? The thought of that makes her feel uneasy and a hand goes to the compass necklace, which she snuck past Lacy.

"You'll see." Lacy tells her with a grin then walks out of her room, "We're ready." Lacy doubles back, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the staircase.

Lissa's halfway down the stairs when she spots Billy, Lee and Barney standing down there. There's a smile on Billy's face and he doesn't look like he's been subjected to any methods of torture. Which causes her to let out a sigh of relief.

"Look Lacy's actually good at something." Barney mumbles elbowing Lee. He then looks to Lissa, "I left a message with Church's people. So don't worry about a thing tonight and go have fun." He tells her.

Billy heads out the door first and Lissa follows behind him. She stops and looks back at Barney, "How did you know?" She asks Barney gesturing towards Billy.

"I'm smarter than you think." Barney answers.


	21. Chapter 21: The Storm

As Billy's truck pulls out from the long gravel driveway that belongs to the farmhouse and onto the main road, Lissa breaks the silence between them.

"So Barney figured us out huh?" She asks, looking towards Billy, "Guess I'm saved from that awkward conversation."

"Speak for yourself." Billy tells her, letting out a nervous laugh, "Let's just say that whole cliché conversation behind a Dad and his daughter's boyfriend is a hell of a lot scarier when the Dad doesn't just leave it at owning a shot gun and busting knee caps. I don't think Witness Protection could save me if I break your heart."

Lissa smiles at the word boyfriend, "Guess I missed another conversation then too, the whole going-steady one."

"Well Barney caused you to miss that one. I was planning on presenting you with my Letterman's tonight. And by Lettermen's jacket I do mean bullet proof vest." He tells her with a laugh.

She reaches over taking his hand that had been resting on his lap while the other manned the steering wheel, and laces her fingers with his. "As for Witness Protection, I don't see you breaking my heart anytime soon Timmons. So I think you're stuck with me."

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Billy answers and quickly takes his gaze from the road to kiss her cheek.

"So now where are you taking me that involved having Lee's Lacy dress me up?" Lissa asks him. Neither she or Billy are the fancy evening out types, so she's been curious since Lacy ordered her into the shower.

"That's a surprise." Is the only answer Billy gives her.

They pull into a small marina which is most empty of boats tonight. Billy leads her down to the very end of the dock where a picnic blanket complete with picnic basket is set up along with a whole bunch of candles. A piece of paper is pinned down with a rock on top of the basket with the word "Enjoy" in block handwriting that she recognizes as Caesar's.

"While it's a shame not to bring you out while you're all dressed up like that." Billy begins as he helps her sit down near the basket, "I figured we'd end up kicked out of and banned from a fancy restaurant. The rich folks really don't like chatter of guns and blood, don't know why."

Lissa can't help but laugh, "This is perfect." She tells him as he sits down on the other side of the basket.

"So I figured with everything going on you might want a little taste of home. And Barney told me how much you like seafood, but never order it." Billy says and then opens up the picnic basket, pulling out a steamed lobster.

She feels her mouth open a bit in shock, "Do you seriously have a whole New England clam bake in there?" Lissa asks in awe. Billy tilts the basket to her and sure enough she finds mussels in a container covered in butter, sweet corn on the cob, cornbread and a second lobster.

"Minus the clam chowder, but I figured it's still too warm out for that." Billy tells her, a smile on his face.

"You know Billy; you're making it so hard for me to be able to one up you one of these days." She tells him. It had been awhile since she had a calm bake dinner and it makes her think of Boston and Derek even more. But the sadness that came with thinking of Derek isn't there this time, instead she's reminded of the summer she spent with the Hollis family in Cape Code, while she was their foster child.

The two are just finishing up when it starts to rain. The light drizzle quickly changes to a heavy downpour and they rush to gather up the picnic supplies. They rush to the pick-up truck, drenched despite their best efforts, and begin laughing for no reason at all. A roar of thunder echoes across the nearby body of water before a bolt of lightning lights up the sky.

"They weren't predicting a storm." Billy tells her and turns the truck on tuning to a weather station on the radio. As the weather man talks about the unexpected storm and how it's expected to last through the night Lissa notices her phones notification light flashing from the dashboard. She's glad she left it in the truck instead of bringing it out with Billy and her. It would have been soaked beyond repair if she had.

There's a voicemail and missed call from Barney and she brings the phone to her ear to listen.

"Lissa, it's Barney. We've been called out on a mission. Nothing too crazy or important, a simple snatch and grab north of Baton Rouge. We're driving up instead of taking the plane due to the storm coming in. We'll be back by morning. We don't' need Billy for this one, so you to enjoy your night. Have Billy stay at the house till we get back. See you soon." Barney's voice comes threw her phone in the voicemail.

"Who was it?" Billy asks, turning off the radio.

"Barney, The Expendables got called out for a mission in Baton Rouge." Lissa tells him and before she can explain more, Billy's reaching for his own phone looking perplexed at the lack of missed calls on the screen, "He said it's a snatch and grab, something simple and that they don't' need you for it. They'll be back in the morning."

"Perfect because we still have dessert." Billy tells her with a smile, "Cesar made blueberry coffee cake, from scratch. It is delicious." He pulls out of the marina parking lot and pulls onto the road, heading back to the farmhouse.

"We have vanilla ice cream at the farmhouse." Lissa adds. After being drenched in the rain nothing sounds better than warm blueberry coffee cake with a side of ice cream.

Back at the farmhouse, Billy changed out of his wet button down shirt and shorts and into a dry shirt and shorts from his bag he kept in the barn turned airplane hangar. Lissa got the blueberry coffee cake warmed up and left Billy to finish up while she went upstairs to change.

A bolt of lightning lights up her room, even more than the light, as she changes into white shorts a black t-shirt. Still feeling a chill from being in the wet dress, she pulls a pink cardigan on over it. Thunder roars on in the distance and she stops to look out the window for the next bolt of lightning. The lightening doesn't come but the lights suddenly go dead in the house. An uneasy feeling rising up in her stomach, the outage can't be explained by lightning and the wind isn't strong enough to tear down trees and power lines.

Lissa tiptoes out of her room, grabbing a pistol from the table in the hall. A part of her is saying she's paranoid, but the other part is reminding her of training with The Expendables. She can hear Yin telling her to stay calm and Gunnar is telling her to find a flashlight. She takes each step slowly, stopping on each one to listen for sounds that are out of place. When she gets to the bottom of the stairs, there's a warm glow from a candle Billy must have light, in the kitchen. She's about to call out his name when she sees the shadow of a person much too tall and wide to be Billy. Someone is in the house.


	22. Chapter 22: Uninvited Guests

Lissa takes a step towards the kitchen and a nearby floorboard squeaks. Before she can spin around there's an arm around her waist and another over her mouth. Her gun is knocked from her hand and skids across the floor to an area unseen. The hand over her mouth smothers her and she can almost hear Lee's voice in her head telling her what to do. She shifts her weight to one side of the attacker's body and takes out his knee with a few good kicks. When he releases his grip and hits him in the kidney then the throat, knocking him down. She's bought herself a few minutes at best.

She dives for the couch, pulling out the handgun Barney kept underneath it. While she constantly called him out on it being a major safety hazard, she's glad he never listened. She's just pulling the gun out when a figure appears from the kitchen. She draws the gun and readies to fire.

"Going to squirt me to death with a squirt gun Agent Hollis?" The figure asks.

That's when she becomes aware of two things. She knows the voice and that the gun in her hand is much too small and light to be real. "What do you want?" Lissa asks.

"Boris, some light please." The figure orders.

The man, who attacked her earlier, stumbles up from the ground and to his feet. She assumes he's Boris since he follows the figures order. He turns on a battery operated lantern from beside the stairs and steps closer to her, keeping a wary eye on her.

With the room partially light up, Lissa learns the identity of the figure –Garrett Johnson. He's Church's right-hand man and one of his most trusted agents. "Son of a bitch." Lissa tells him. Pair Garrett's arrival with a Russian and she now knows who the other leak is. There's no mention or sign of Billy which gives her hope he got out before they got in. He's probably perched up in a nearby tree waiting to get a shot on either of the men.

"Now, that's no way to treat a guest." Garrett tells her in a near sing-song tone. He drops a capped water bottle on the couch in front of her. It's halfway filled with a dark amber colored liquid, "Drink it." He orders.

"Guests first." Lissa says, eyeing a steak knife on the end table to her left. It's just a little out of her reach. If she kicked the couch toward Garrett she could grab the knife and take out Boris with it. Knocking Garrett backwards would put him by the window and hopefully in Billy's crosshairs.

Garrett shakes his head, unimpressed and snaps his fingers. A third man, another Russian, enters the room dragging Billy behind him. His arms are bound together and there's duct tape over his mouth as a wound to the upper right side of his forehead bleeds down to his eye. He's struggling against the grip the third man has on him, but Billy's outmatched. "Drink Agent Hollis or Dmitri here puts a bullet in his head."

Billy begins shaking his head wildly in protest. His shouts are muffled by the duct tape over his mouth but she knows what he's saying. He's telling her not to do it because they are dead either way. But she doesn't know what to do; none of The Expendables trained her for this. They were always the ones doing the rescuing not the ones needing to be rescued.

"Do you want him to end up with Derek Hollis?" Garrett teases, "I'll put bullets in his knee caps, then his hands and chest before firing the kill shot. He'll beg for mercy and for his life the whole time. I'll let you listen this time of course, it's only fair."

With no other option she picks up the bottle, dropping the cap to the floor and chugs the contents down. It only takes seconds for them to make her feel dizzy. She reaches into the pocket of her cardigan, pressing the 1 key for Barney on speed dial. She knows Garrett will search her for a phone and she can't bring it with her, but at the very least she can alert him that something is wrong. While they are over an hour away she knows Barney's friend Tool lives nearby and probably some other not-so-nice-people. It's the best shot for her and Billy.

She falls forward onto the couch, her head heavy and her body weak. She tucks the phone behind the couch cushions, out of sight from Garrett and the two men, and lets the call continue. Her eyes grow heavy then everything goes black.

An unknown about of time later, Lissa opens her eyes. Her head is pounding from the drug she drank and her vision is blurry. The room she's in smells of dust and mold, so right away she knows she's not in the farmhouse. As she spends time coming more and more to, she feels an excruciating pain in her left hand. She forces herself to pick her heavy head up and finds her left hand is nailed down to the wooden kitchen table in front of her. Her stomach twists into knots at the sight and her instinct is to pull away.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." A voice with a thick Russian accent says from behind her, "It will only hurt more."

Lissa turns and finds Boris, from the farmhouse, standing behind her. "Where is Billy?" She demands.

Boris ignores her and steps out of the room, which from the size Lissa assumes is a dining room. The house she's in is empty expect for a few bits of discarded furniture that are heavily covered in dust. The only thing that looks modern is the desktop computer in front of her. It's still dark outside and there is a rumbling of thunder in the distance, so she knows they are still in the New Orleans area and not much time as past.

Boris steps back behind her and Garrett enters the room, a grin on his face. "Hello sleepyhead. You've got some work to do." Garrett tells her and places a two liter of soda in front of her right hand, "I figured we'd save the whole you threaten me, I threaten you and you not cooperate thing." He says gesturing to her left hand. "I did that to you and I need you. Imagine what I'll do to dear Billy Timmons in the other room, who I don't need, if you don't do as I say."

"Nailing my hand down seems like a stupid move on your part." Lissa tells him, her mind becoming a bit clearer, "Slows down the whole typing thing when you do it with one hand." With the computer in front of her she knows it means Garrett wants her to finish Sedov's computer code.

Garrett looks over his shoulder and shuts something in Russian. Seconds later cries of pain come from the other room, from Billy. "Every time you piss me off, that boy is going to feel it. Each time it's going to get worse. It'll be a little hard for Mr. Timmons to make a living as a sniper if he has no trigger finger, don't you think.' Garrett uncaps the soda and thrusts it at her, "Drink, it'll help get the drug out of your system faster."

With no other option Lissa takes the bottle and chugs it down.


	23. Chapter 23: Finishing The Code

**Authors Note: A special shout out to the guest reviewer who said they look for updates over their coffee. I hope you enjoy!**

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With two liters of soda in her, Lissa feels more awake and most of the drug to be gone. Working on the code, which was partially done due to recovered computer files, is taking her longer than it should since she's doing it with one hand. The few times she slowed down to think the code over or double check something were met with howls of pain from Billy, so she forces herself to keep working. The one plus side to it taking longer than it should, it gives more time for help to arrive.

She doesn't let herself think of the possibilities of help not coming. With the rain outside any tire tracks and foot prints have been washed away. There's no way to track them through GPS on their phones and she can't send out for help with Garrett watching over her shoulder. As the despair of being hopeless washes over her, she can't help but think Barney and the rest of The Expendables dealt with worse situations. They will find a way to find them. Maybe Garrett said something useful after the drugs knocked her out, maybe Billy got a few words out that Barney heard over the phone.

As she nears the end of the code, she knows finishing it means they are dead. Garrett and Sedov aren't letting either of them walk away, especially not her. She can't draw out writing the code last any longer, so she's out of options. Finishing this code means the Russian mob affiliate gets more money than they'll know what to do with, money they can use to hurt people. And she can't let that happen.

"Hell is going to rain down on you." Lissa tells Garrett as she types. "Barney Ross is going to hunt you down like an animal and put you down like one too. All of you. Want a recommendation? Ever hear of Vilian? Barney took him out for putting Billy in the ICU. Killing Billy and I? You are looking at endless days of suffering. They won't hand you over to Church to be put in some dark hole. No, you'll be strapped down to a table screaming for mercy."

Her words don't seem to have much effect on Garrett, other than bringing his attention to her instead of the computer screen, "One problem with this whole plan, Ross or anyone else know I'm the last leak." Garrett tells her, "And by the time they figure it out, I'll be long gone and very well protected. He won't stand a chance."

Lissa looks to him, a smirk on her face, "I called Barney after drinking the drug back in the house. I'm pretty sure you said a few words after I blacked out. He heard them and he'll know who you are. I bet he's on his way now. And while he tortures you, I'll find some goddamn supernatural way to make sure you hear my laughter the whole damn time." She lets out a haunting laugh that even surprises her.

This time she knows she's rattled Garrett who begins to check her over for a phone.

"It's back at the house." She tells him, "But I figure this place has been empty for a while. A house that's suddenly using electricity after months of nothing is sure to stick out. Bad safe house, Garrett." Lissa keeps at him, wanting to rattle him so he makes a mistake. "Garrett, Garrett, Garrett, didn't the CIA teach you better?"

"Shut up you stupid bitch!" Garrett shouts. He looks over his shoulder to Boris, "Get that set up now."

She finishes the code as Boris shuffles out of the room and begins putting something together outside the door. "I'm done now Garrett." She says, "But it won't get far, he'll be coming for you. God am I going to laugh when he gets you."

Garrett saves the code to the hard drive before shutting it down. With the computer off he unplugs the tower to the computer and carries it under his arm, "Ross is going to be a little busy picking up your pieces instead of tracking me down." He tells her then gestures out the door.

Clear as day she can see that Boris has set up a bomb on the wall outside the dining room. 5:00 flashes in bright red letters. The sight of it makes her blood go cold; she only has five minutes left to live. Garrett, Boris and the third man leave the house just seconds after Boris arms the bomb. The numbers begin to count down and her panic sets in.

With the computer gone and no phones she has no way to reach out for help. The bomb ticks with each passing second reminding her of how little time she and Billy have left. "Billy." She shouts. When she gets no reply she begins to test the nail in her hand holding her down to the desk in the living room. Her small tug is met with a searing pain that makes her dizzy for a few seconds.

Lissa finds herself trying to think what Barney would do in this situation. He would have a plan of escape, a crazy over the top one but it would work. She can picture Caesar running in with an axe he found near the house and chop away at the desk. Gunnar would be joking the whole time about how Caesar should be on a maple syrup bottle dressed in lumberjack gear. Barney would be telling her she'd be okay, that this is just another problem he can fix. None of The Expendables would be pay attention to the ticking bomb, except maybe Toll and that would only be to make fun of it. They all would be too focused on getting her and Billy, their teammates, out of here. Until this very moment she felt like an outsider to The Expendables, despite their best efforts to include her. Because until now she didn't realize what it meant to be an Expendable, you make yourself expendable to save a team member. And that's exactly what she's going to do.


	24. Chapter 24: Running Out Of Time

Lissa forces herself to get up from the old wooden chair she had woken up in, she winces as the change in position makes her hand throb. Using her good hand she pushes the computer monitor, keyboard, mouse and empty soda bottles to the floor. The items fall to the ground with a loud crash and she begins kicking at closest leg to the table. If she can get the table flat she thinks she'll be able to break enough of the wood around her hand to be mobile. By the time she has the second leg broken she can hear a noise in the house. She stops kicking and realizes the noise is someone yelling her name.

"In here!" She shouts and starts on the third leg.

Wincing as she sits up in the computer chair, she knocks the computer monitor and various electronics off the desk. They fall to the floor with a loud crash and she begins kicking at the leg to the desk. If she can get the table flat she can break enough of the wood around her hand to be mobile. By the time Lissa has the second leg broken she can hear noise in the house; it's someone yelling her name.

Billy appears in the doorway seconds later. His head wound, that he got at the farmhouse, has stopped bleeding but there's various cuts all over his body staining his grey t-shirt with crimson. His wrists are bloody and raw looking, they must have tied him up and he broke the ties somehow. "What did they do to you?" Is the first thing he says, anger in his tone as his eyes lock on her left hand. From her jerking motions to kick the table and the slant it stands at now has caused the wound to start bleeding again.

"We have to break it and we have to go. There's a bomb Billy." Lissa says to him, looking over his shoulder to the bomb, "We're running out of time."

That's all it takes for Billy to spring into action, breaking the rest of the table legs. Once the table lays flat, he delivers a few blows safely away from her hand. She's finally freed from the table but with a jagged book shaped piece of wood attached to her hand.

"Gravity is going to start pulling the wood away from your hand, forcing the nail in more. A screw would have been so much better, easier." Billy says and looks around the room. He grabs ahold of the forgotten power chord from the computer tower, "This is going to hurt." He warns her.

"Well next time someone wants to bolt me down I'll make sure it's screw." Lissa tells him with a short laugh. She braces herself for the pain that comes with Billy tying the cord tight around her hand. She looks at the bomb, only forty-five seconds remain, "We've got to go now." She grabs ahold of his hand with her good one and they take off running.

Billy runs faster and harder than her and she has a hard time keeping up with him. The darkness around the house covers obstacles like falling tree limbs, rocks and other debris. He hand keeps squeezing hers and at first she thinks it's to comfort her but then realizes he's using it count the seconds till the explosion. "Fifteen left, we'll never make it far enough away." Billy tells her and he looks all over the yard for somewhere safe. He must spot something because he pulls her into a run. They stop at a small muddy pond not that far from the house. "It's the best option." He tells her than begins to pull her in.

They get deep enough to cover their shoulders as the first ripples of the explosion are heard. Billy shoves her under with him as the burning debris begins to rain down.

Lissa has to force herself not to tread water with her injured hand as she takes murky peaks at the explosion above them. Just when her lungs start to burn from the lack of air, Billy pulls her up to the surface with him. She begins gasping in deep breaths of air and looks to him. It all sinks into her in that moment, they nearly died in there. "I thought…" Her voice trails off as she feels the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

"We made it." Billy says and then kisses her, "I just hate that they got the code to start up the credit card stealing program."

A smile graces Lissa's face, "They didn't. One final fuck you to Sedov is what they'll get. I distracted Garrett from the computer screen long enough to input in a line of code. It's actually Derek's code, seemed fitting. The second they try to run that program every device connecting to their Wi-Fi will be fried. Computers, phones, everything."

Billy can't help but let out a small chuckle, "My little computer hacker." He says. "It's a good thing they think we're dead or else they'll be hunting you down for that one."

With their deaths assumed there comes freedom for both she and Billy. Sedov, Garret and any other leaks in the CIA won't come looking for them. For the first time since she met The Expendables, there isn't a number on forehead. "Now we have to run." She says to Billy as they make their way out of the pond.

Billy nods, "We have to get far from here, as far as we can." He tells her, thinking on his feet.

Lissa feared having to run on her own, but now with Billy she feels better about it. He knows how to survive in situations like these and she has the know-how to keep them hidden. They could go somewhere warm, with new names and identities. Maybe he could finally go to veterinary school, because there's no way they'd think to look for a sniper in a classroom. But one thought interrupts her planning, Barney. "Barney. I can't let him think I'm dead. We both know how he got when Vilian hurt you. If he thinks Sedov killed me…." She doesn't let herself finish the thought.

"They'll be watching Barney and the others looking for signs that we made it out." Billy tells her, letting out a frustrated sigh, "We'll go to Tool's. They won't go looking there and he can help us. He'll get word to Barney without raising suspicion."

Lissa nods as she begins to hear sirens in the distance. It's all it takes for them to take off running for the woods. "Clothes, medical supplies, money, ID's and a vehicle." She lists off to Billy, taking some comfort in her CIA training. Normally she'd have a safe house a few miles away with everything, but that's not the case here. Looks like she's going to meet the infamous Tool tonight.


	25. Chapter 25: On The Run

**Authors Note: My apologies for this update being later than usual! Additionally, I most likely won't be able to update till Friday evening/Saturday morning. I hope this chapter will hold you all over! Once again, thank you to everyone who has reviewed, it means a lot to me!**

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They run through the woods around the farm without saying a word. The only time they stop is for Billy to check her compass necklace to make sure they are going the right way. His gift is doing a lot more for them tonight than looking pretty. The thunderstorm has past but there's wind that remains, which gives them both chills in their wet and muddy clothes. Her left hand throbs as she holds it against her chest and above her heart to help stop any bleeding. It takes them just over two hours in the darkness to make it to downtown New Orleans. Their clothes are stiff but dry though hold the smell of the murky pond. Despite being in the early hours of the morning, it's prime time in downtown New Orleans. With the city alive with people, it provides the perfect cover for them, but they stand out a bit. Billy manages to snag a baseball cap off an outside merchants table with ease and uses it to head his head wound. The scarf he grabs next helps cover the board still nailed to her hand and makes it look more like a purse. Now they have some of the attention off them.

"We're close now." Billy tells her as they continue their brisk pace. They turn down a maze of side streets and alleyways before coming to a biker bar looking place that advertises it's self as a tattoo parlor. The place just screams Barney-Ross's-friend-lives-here. Billy steers her away from the front door and to a back alley. He finds the service door which opens up to a staircase, which they take.

The stairs lead them to a modest sized apartment above the tattoo parlor, which must be where Tool lives. Billy doesn't waste any time and grabs a cell phone off the coffee table, dialing the number for the tattoo parlor.

"Yeah I'd like a skull tattoo, something with knives, a lot of them." Billy says into the phone then hands up. Not even a minute later Lissa can hear noise outside the door that she assumes leads down to the tattoo parlor. A large man with dark skin and dark hair that's beginning to show his age with streaks of grey in it stands in the doorway. "Billy The Kid." He greets.

"Lissa meet Tool, he's an old friend of Barney's." Billy says gesturing to tool who has now shut the door to the apartment.

Tool gives her a smile, "Barney's daughter." He says and then sizes them up, "You kids look like you've gotten into some trouble."

Billy nods, "We need your help in running. The people who want us dead think we're dead, we want to keep it that way."

"And Barney?" Tool asks.

He's why we came to you. We need to get word to him that we're alive." Lissa says, "Will you help us?"

Tool nods, "Kid there's a medical kit in the closet by the bathroom, go grab it." He says and then gestures to the kitchen table in the corner of the apartment "Have a seat, Miss. Ross, let's see what we can do about that hand."

An hour later, both Lissa and Billy are showered, in dry clothes and bandaged up. They sit at the table eating cups of chili Tool had handed over to them. A bunch of different maps lay across the table, "Fastest way out of here is Mexico but they'll be expecting that. If they're smart, and let's assume they are, they'll be looking there just in case. So you do something different, go to Canada. From there take a few different flights and end up somewhere warm. Somewhere off the radar but that the appearance of strangers won't spook the locals. I keep a few identities handy…" Tool tells them as he gets up from the table and pulls a lock box out of the couch, "People looking to run have a way of finding me and I figured why not make a profit." He pulls a set of keys from his pocket and begins to unlock the box.

"It is alright if Barney gets you the money sir?" Billy asks, "We don't have anything at the moment."

Tool laughs off the idea, "Barney Ross is like family to me, which makes Lissa family too. I've got years of missed birthday presents to make up for. Call us even kid?" Tool asks looking to Lissa with a grin.

"Even." Lissa tells him with a smile. Since she met Tool she had been trying to place who he reminded her of and now she knows, Barney. He has the same friendly-but-deadly smile Barney does when he cracks a joke with her. Tool looks worn all around, like he's been in a lot of fights and on a lot of missions. For now Barney looks worn around the edges, but still deadly as ever. But one day, Lissa knows she'll be reminded of Tool when she looks at Barney.

Tool comes back to the table with two passports in hand and a wad of cash. He hands off a black device Billy doesn't recognize to Lissa, "Also owe you some Christmas presents too." He tells her. Lissa automatically recognizes the device as a scanner used to steal credit card information and print it onto black cards.

"Thank you Tool." Lissa says and tucks the device into the back pack of other supplies Tool gave them including changes of clothes and a few weapons.

Tool grabs a set of keys off the table and hands them to Billy, "There's a motorcycle parked out back, take it and drive to Baton Rouge. There's parking garage at the corner of Main and Temple. I'll see to it that a car is left for you. A popular make, something that won't stand out. Use it for a few days then ditch it for another one."

Billy takes the keys and nods, "Thanks Tool." He says as he rises to his feet. He shakes hands with Tool before grabbing two motorcycle helmets with face shields from by the door.

Lissa follows suit and puts the backpack on, "Thanks…Uncle Tool." She says trying the name out, it brings a smile to Tool's face.

"I always worried about Barney. He never had a reason to come home other than to lead his team. Now he has another reason. So you stay alive, you here?" Tool tells her then gives her a one armed hug, "Trust your gut, if something feels wrong then it most likely is wrong."

With that she leaves Tool's tattoo parlor and meets Billy outside, he already has the motorcycle running. She takes the other helmet from him and pulls it on, climbing on the back of the motorcycle.

"This the part where we ride off into the sunset?" Lissa asks Billy with a laugh.

"The sun is going to be rising in a few hours; I think we have awhile to go before we reach that sunset." He replies back with a laugh.


	26. Chapter 26: We'll Be Back

Billy and Lissa make it to Baton Rouge as the sun is beginning to rise. The three story parking garage Tool directed them to is easy to find. With the motorcycle parked in a vacant spot, they begin to look the garage over for the vehicle Tool promised would be there.

"So what car is it?" Billy asks her as he scans the garage for anything that looks out of place.

Lissa looks blankly at him, "I hate to play the stereotype card, but I'm a girl. Cars are your department."

"Guns are my department."

"Well computers are mine." Lissa tells him.

"Look at you two already bickering." A familiar voice with a slight British accent says. Towards the middle of the lot walks Lee Christmas a grin on his face. He's still in his combat gear from whatever mission The Expendables had been on.

Billy looks a bit relieved to see Lee, but also a bit nervous, "How'd you get here? I would have though the CIA would have eyes on the whole team."

"Kid, if I don't want to be followed, I won't be followed." Lee tells him as he crosses the garage to stand in front of them, "Besides, that damn CIA leak fooled us with a fake mission. I went out tonight with plans to complete a mission, since the first didn't happen I found a new one."

From behind Lee another figure appears, a well built and muscular man.

"Barney." Lissa says smiling.

"The spooks sitting outside my apartment have no idea Lacy is just yelling at an empty apartment. She's pretty believable when she starts." Lee informs them, "And Tool, well Tool is having a little too much fun pretending to be Barney."

Barney joins them in the middle of the garage, "I couldn't let you run without saying goodbye." He tells Lissa.

"I packed you a little car package Billy, let's go take a look at it." Lee says and leads Billy away from Lissa and Barney.

"Tool said to tell you he's off the hook for a high school graduation present now." Barney says. He shoves his hands into the pocket of his leather jacket, "I wanted to grab you some of your stuff, but we were halfway back from Baton Rouge when Tool called, so I couldn't get there and back in time. I grabbed some stuff though at a store down the street. It's enough to get you by till you can get your own."

Lissa nods, "I understand. Thank you for coming."

"Church is pretty damn mad that you're dead." Barney tells her, "And that man does his best work when he's bat shit angry. We'll find Sedov and this will all be over. I promise."

"Who knew he actually could care?" Lissa asks with a laugh. When she first met Barney she was ready to leave and go back to her life in D.C. Now her life in New Orleans is one she doesn't want to give up. She doesn't want to say goodbye to Barney. "When you go after Sedov, promise me you'll do it smart."

Barney nods to her and then shifts his weight from foot to foot for a few seconds. She can tell he's debating saying something. He pulls a handgun from his jacket pocket and hands it over to her, "It is light weight, something you can easily hide but it still packs a punch." He tells her.

Lissa smiles and takes the gun, tucking it into the pocket of her sweatshirt, "I don't think Hallmark makes a card that says 'Thanks for the gun Dad', so thank you."

Barney pulls another item from his pocket and holds it out to her "Take this too."

When he drops the item into her hand, Lissa feels a swell of emotion. "Your lucky ring?" She asks him and then goes to hand it back, "I can't take it."

"This thing has gotten me out of some tricky situations." Barney tells her, "You're going into one now, so you need it more than me. Tracking down and taking out Sedov is the kind of thing I do every day. But running? Well that's something new to all of us. Take it."

Lissa pockets the ring next to the gun and wraps her arms around Barney, "I want you to know I'll be watching you." She tells him feeling tears in her eyes, "An ATM camera, a satellite image, if it transmits an image I'll use it. So if you get into trouble I'll be bringing this back to you."

Barney hugs her back and leads her over to a dark green Ford Escape. The car is so average she can't even remember seeing others on the road. It was a smart move on Tool's part to pick a car like this. Lee gives her a pat on the back before she climbs into the passenger seat. Barney shuts the door behind her and then leans in the rolled down window, Billy already had the car running, "Stay safe, both of you."

"Will do, sir." Billy says and then throws the car in reverse backing out. Lissa watches from out the back window of the car, as Lee and Barney grow smaller. Her sight of them is gone when Billy takes a turn down to the lower levels of the garage. "You okay?" He asks her. He takes one hand from the wheel and leans over to take one of her hands in his.

"For the first time since my Mom died, I've felt like I was leaving home." Lissa tells him as she uses her other hand to wipe away the tears in her eyes.

"We'll be back." Billy assures her as he pulls the car out of the parking garage and out onto the road.


	27. Chapter 27: The Ghost

_Five Months Later_

The day after Billy and Lissa ran Barney and The Expendables began tracking Sedov and Garrett. They took outside missions only when absolutely necessary and passed the rest off to Trench and Booker to handle. Maggie Chan, who worked with them in Siberia, joined in them to help them better track Sedov.

After a few months they begin to see Sedov pulling his forces from around the United States and Russia to San Lorenzo Island off the coast of Peru. Maggie finds chatter that Sedov is scared of a man nicknamed "The Ghost" and that's why he's circling the wagons. But their searches and reaching out to contacts finds no mention of a man named "The Ghost".

When they got word that Sedov was at his compound in San Lorenzo, The Expendables moved out to take him down on December 23rd. But they were met with an overwhelming hostile force of Sedov's men who were prepared for them. Despite months of preparation, all of The Expendables ended up captured. That's how four days later Barney Ross found himself half drugged and chained to a wall on the upper floor of the compound with the rest of his team, Maggie and Church. The first few days they were held captive there was constant chatter of The Ghost. From what little Russian Maggie could understand, she reported that The Ghost threatened to attack on Christmas.

Today there's more of a mode of celebration and laughter at calling The Ghost out on not showing. It seems Sedov and his men are letting out sighs of relief now that The Ghost's bluff has been called. With there no longer a threat from The Ghost, there's no longer a need for hostages.

Barney looks up as Sedov and Garrett enter the room, which is guarded with five armed Russian mob affiliates.

"The Barney Ross." Sedov says in his thick accent, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I see your plan to kill me failed, just like The Ghost. Though I give you more credit than him, because you actually showed."

"Yeah well maybe your English is bad and you messed up Christmas with New Years." Barney spits back with a smirk.

"Same snarky attitude as your daughter and look where that got here." Sedov says with a smirk, "You failed her, just like you failed your team."

Barney fights against the chains, hating every minute of Sedov mentioning Lissa. While he knows Lissa's alive, unlike Sedov, he hates seeing the man who had his daughter drugged, hurt and held against her will twice now. "Untie me and we'll see who's the failure." Barney hisses through clenched teeth.

"Do you hear that?" Maggie interrupts, cocking her head to the side, "It sounds like a helicopter…multiple helicopters." The room goes silent as they all listen, but they never hear the sound of approaching helicopter blades, instead "Santa Clause Is Coming To Town" blares loudly. It's so sound that they all realize it's coming from inside the compound, from every electronic capable of playing music.

Over the music, multiple loud thuds can be heard through the roof.

"Sounds like reindeer on the roof." Gunnar says with a laugh, enjoying how spooked the Russian's are now standing in a circle with their guns drawn yelling about The Ghost.

Seeing the paranoia in Sedov, Garrett and the rest causes a thought to click in Barney's head. The Ghost has driven Sedov is feel so crazy and paranoid that he's pulled his forces to one area. He's not thinking clearly which opened him up to the mistake of being caught by The Expendables. Someone has screwed with Sedov's head to the point that they were able to make him do exactly what they wanted. It sounds like what was done to the man who killed Karen Howard, Lissa's mother. And the only person capable of that is Lissa Hollis.

"I have a feeling the ghost is a friend." Barney whispers to Lee, "The friend we said goodbye to in Baton Rouge."

Lee looks up to the ceiling, "Oh bloody hell." He says.

And seconds later there's a loud explosion from down the hall. The dust doesn't get a chance to settle before all hell breaks loose. The Russians are shouting and there's loud noise from down the hall.

"Grab him!" Sedov shouts to Garrett, pointing to Barney. He rushes over and unhooks Church from the wall, but keeps the chains on them, "Whoever The Ghost is maybe they'll be interested in the leader of The Expendables or a CIA agent." Sedov and Garrett lead the room dragging Barney and Church with them through another hallway leading down to the first floor.

"I wouldn't take Barney if I were you." Lee shouts, "I think it'll only make The Ghost angry!"

The Russians begin to fire as the hallway comes to life with the sound of four wheelers coming through them.

"What the hell?" Toll shouts and tries to move away from the line of fire, "The Ghost, Christmas, reindeer on the roof? This is the crazy shit we think up!"

"Or Barney Ross's daughter." Lee says. The rest of The Expendables don't get time to process the information as two four wheelers fly into the room with two people on each one. They are all dressed in protective helmets and combat gear. There's rapid fire from one of the four wheelers and the Russian's in the room drop dead.

The passenger on the back of the second four wheeler, armed with a shot gun, pulls their helmet off. "Merry Christmas." Lissa Hollis says, dropping her helmet to the ground.

"And a Happy New Year." Billy The Kid says from the front of the second four wheeler after pulling his helmet off.

"Boy are we glad to see you." Yin tells them.

"You all already know Booker and Trench." Lissa says gesturing to the men on the first four wheeler. The quick shooting, they all realize, is attributed to Booker.

"How the hell did you get them to come?" Cesar says, "Trench doesn't do shit anyone but himself unless he owes a favor and Booker's the lone wolf!"

"We owe both Lissa and Billy a favor." Booker informs them as he helps free The Expendables from their chains, "We've got water, food and uppers to help you all back on your feet." He drops a backpack down beside Caesar.

"Tons of weapons too." Lissa says gesturing to bags on the back of the four wheelers. She scans the room finding two faces missing, "Where's Barney and Church?" She asks as she frees Lee from his restraints.

"Sedov and Garrett took them down that stairway." Lee says climbing to his feet after Lissa frees him.

Lissa nods, a look of frustration on her face, this clearly wasn't part of her plan. She wanted to get Barney and the two of them head down to the server room to destroy the program Sedov had another hacker create but he hadn't put it into use yet. Now Barney and the server are in two different places. "Gunnar, Yin and Toll, you go after Sedov and Garrett. Get Barney and Church, no matter what. Booker and Lee, you're with me, we're destroying that computer program for good. Caesar, you and Trench hold off Sedov's forces for as long as possible. Billy, sniper support as discussed."

The Expendables all stop what they are doing and listened to the orders from Lissa much like they would Barney. It's clear not only did Lissa inherit Barney's taste for revenge but also his leadership skills.


	28. Chapter 28: Nailed Down

**Authors Note: Only two chapters left after this one.**

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Lissa runs down the hallway of Sedov's compound dressed in a long sleeve black shirt, black pants and a bulletproof vest. She has multiple gun holsters set up allowing her easy access. As they get closer to the basement where the server room is they are met with more and more guards.

"You two go!" Booker shouts to Lissa and Lee, "I'll hold them off." He takes cover in a blind spot to the Russians at the top of the stairs. Without a second thought Lissa and Lee descend down to the next level.

Lissa and Lee make it down to the server room and destroy all of the hard drives after Lissa sends out a virus permanently corrupting the code.

"Getting low on ammo." Booker's voice comes over the ear piece.

Lissa takes off her backpack, filled with ammo and takes a few clips, "Go back him up." Lissa says.

"How come I knew you'd assign yourself a secondary mission?" Lee asks her, "Think with your head, not your heart, kid. And kill him."

"With pleasure." Lissa tells him. She watches as Lee runs off with the ammo bag to support Booker. She finds a corner nook that she's protected in and pulls out a tablet computer from the pouch at her side. She begins typing commands into it. The Christmas Carole had long sense stopped broadcasting, but now all of the electronics begin broadcasting something new. A haunting voice keeps repeating Sedov's name. She checks the cameras in the compound and finds Sedov, alone, in the garage not too far away.

When she arrives, he's hiding between two of his cars, in fear of The Ghost. He's yelling into his cellphone in Russian, obviously looking for backup from his men.

Lissa tabs a few more commands into the laptop and the haunting voice orders Sedov to look up and when he does, Lissa fires at his head. Her shoot misses, but she knows he sees her. "What's a matter Sedov, you look like you've seen a ghost." She shouts at him.

"Should have known you were still alive." Sedov shouts at her then reaches a hand up, firing at her.

"Bullets won't hurt me Sedov." Lissa says as she slides the pouch away. "But they will hurt you." She fires under the car, hitting Sedov in the leg. She's smiling over her accomplishments when she's hit from behind.

A bloody Garrett is standing there with a baseball bat in hand. "This time I'm making sure death sticks." He tells her. He delivers a blow to her hand, knocking the gun from her wrist. "Sedov get her gun!" He shouts.

Sedov limps out from behind the cars and makes it over to them, picking up Lissa's gun. "You have been one huge pain in the ass." He growls at her, "Time for you to go." He raises the gun at her but before he can pull the trigger a gunshot rings out in the garage and Sedov drops to the ground clutching his knee.

Lissa turns to see Barney standing there, gun raised. She doesn't get to do more because Garrett swings the bat at her. She pulls a collapsible baton from her weapons holster and swings it out so it extends. She begins fighting with Garrett while Barney's attention goes to Sedov.

Garrett gets a hit in to her arm and a graze to her face that cause her to cry out in pain. Other than that she's quick to block his moves and manages to get the drop on him in his weakened state. She shoves him to the ground where his head hits the concrete floor with a crack.

Lissa grabs ahold of his hands and duct tapes them with the palms together, "I owe you something." She tells him holding up her left hand which has a round nail size wound in the palm. She pulls a hammer out from another pouch like the one she pulled the tablet from along with a nail. Garrett yells in protest and tries to move away but Lissa swings the hammer down. She kicks him in the head, knocking him unconscious. There's coldness in her eyes as she looks down at the healed scar on her left palm where Garrett nailed her hand down to the table back in New Orleans. He and Sedov destroyed her life in so many ways. That feeling of pitch black revenge Barney told her about, she can feel it pulsing through her Garrett taken care of she turns her attention to Barney who's fighting off Sedov who has now emptied out his stolen gun.

"Please don't kill me." Sedov pleads as Barney throws his upper body on to the top of one of his cars.

"Not my decision." Barney tells them and then looks to Lissa.

Lissa reaches behind her bullet proof vest and pulls out Barney's skull ring, his lucky ring, which she had on a chain around her neck. She pulls the chain and then holds the ring out to him, "Thought you might want this back." She tells him, "I told you I'd be watching. I would have come sooner, but it was hard getting all the supplies together on such short notice."

"Better late than never." Barney says as he pulls his ring on, "I promised you this kid." He says gesturing to Sedov and pulls a pistol from his holster.

Lissa takes the gun and cocks it. She looks Sedov in his eyes, "You did horrible things to me. You killed Derek and his girlfriend Michaela, and then you hurt Billy, then me again. I've been out for your blood Sedov and I could taste it the second I heard you had my Dad and the rest of his team. You've caused all this pain for money. I'm scared to know what you'd do for power, for fun." Lissa says to him, grabbing hold of his jaw, "Are you afraid Sedov? You should be. Because people like us, we take the darkness the pain causes and we bottle it all up. So then when we need it, we can go pitch black. It allows us to do unspeakable things to bad men like you." She then steps back, keeping the gun aimed on Sedov.

Barney moves aside, out of her line of fire.

It's been over half a year since Lissa was in Sedov's clutches and it's been a time of pain, hurt and uncertainty. She can feel the urge for vengeance building up in her, she wants Sedov dead. Before she fires she looks to Barney. She keeps her eyes on him and fires.

The bullet hits Sedov in his other knee and he drops to the ground crying out in pain. In between cries of pain, he's begging for mercy.

Lissa crosses the room and grabs ahold of Sedov's face once again. "I don't kill for the pleasure of it." She tells him, "Because I am nothing like you. Instead I have an associate, a Mr. Church, you know one of the men you held hostage. He's going to see it you fall into a deep dark hole where no one can find you, where no one can hear you scream." She hands the weapon back to Barney, "Grab Garrett, this is over."

Barney quickly hugs her and crosses the room to grab ahold of Garrett. He's proud Lissa made the choice that she did.


	29. Chapter 29: Free Agent

After the chaos ends, the CIA arrives shortly after with medical supplies and food. While being patched up and having something to eat, the whole team of The Expendables watch as Sedov, Garrett and their men who were alive are all dragged out. They are loaded onto a second plane which is filled with heavily armed agents.

Church strolls up to the, a minor head wound and a bullet to his arm all patched up. "They won't be free men for the rest of their lives." He assures them all. "Agent Hollis, a word?"

Lissa gives Billy's hand a squeeze before getting up from the stretcher the two had been sitting on while having their injuries taken care of. She follows Church a few paces away, leaving them out of earshot of the others.

"When I brought you to the CIA I made you a promise to ensure your safety and wellbeing." Church begins. He's avoiding eye contact with her, which Lissa knows it has to be hard for him to admit to making a mistake, so she doesn't call him out on it. "I failed in doing that, multiple times and for that I am sorry. But I'm sure my words don't mean much to you now. But instead, I think this will." He gestures an agent, who is holding a clipboard, to come over.

The agent strolls over and holds the clipboard and a pen out to Lissa.

Lissa begins skimming the document over, a confused look on her face. "What is this?"

"Termination papers for your contract with the FBI and CIA. It clears you of all charges for cybercrimes you committed. In other words the slate is clean." Church informs her, "You're a free agent now, Alyssa. But I do hope you'll consider consulting for us if we ever need you."

Lissa nods and signs her name on the papers before handing it back over to the agent. The agent walks away without wasting another second.

Church takes a step closer, lowering his voice, "Unofficially, the contract also sees to it that no investigation will be done into Sedov's missing funds. I think we both know where those went and I think the person who has them will do the right thing with the money. It'll do more good out in the world than it would locked up in evidence."

"I'd have to agree sir." Lissa tells him. She knows exactly where Sedov's money is, in an off-shore bank account that she put it in. It took a little help from one of Derek's hacker friends, but the cyber trail leading to where Sedov's money went was erased.

"Let Barney know that the plane to the left is for you all to use to get home. Agent Tenser, who you just met, can fly it if you all want to get some sleep. If not he'll see it to someone is waiting at the barn to pick the plane up." Church tells her, "I'm seeing to it that I'm the one to personal lock Sedov and Garrett into their holes." He walks away heading to the plane the two men had been loaded onto.

Lissa walks back to the group and before getting within arm's reach, Barney's looking for answers.

"What did he want?" Barney asks.

"They have a plane for us to take home." Lissa says, gesturing behind her to the one Church mentioned, "And I'm a free agent now. Cleared of all crimes, past and present."

A grin forms on Barney's face as he replies with a simple "Good." Lissa can't help but think that Barney had something to do with Church's change of heart in regards to her contract with the FBI and CIA. But she's happy to no longer be on a leash, so she's not going to ask any questions.

They parted ways with Booker and Trench, who assured the time they'd be around if trouble struck again, before flying back to New Orleans on the CIA's plane. Though Maggie chooses to come with the group instead of returning with the CIA agents. With everyone tired and their wounds patched up, words were brief among them all before they headed back to their respective homes when they arrived in the late evening.

The sun is just peeking out from behind the morning clouds when Billy wakes up the following morning. In the corner of Lissa's bedroom there's a glow from two computer monitors and he can hear her typing away on the keyboards.

"Little early don't you think?" Billy asks her as he sits on the edge of the bed.

"Just finalizing a few loose ends." Lissa says looking over her shoulder with a smile. "Derek's Mom is setting up a scholarship for kids who want to pursue computer science degrees. Michaela's sister is doing one for those who want to become elementary school teachers like her. I'm just made a hefty donation to each with Sedov's money. The hacker Sedov used to finish the code was found dead in basement at Sedov's, he has a family and well they won't have to worry about money." She shares. "A few of mine and Derek's hacker friends are looking to track down anyone else Sedov's hurt to take care of them too."

Her computer lets out a beep and a smile forms on Lissa's face, "Hey come check this out." She tells him.

Billy climbs out of bed, curious as to what Lissa is up to. He leans over her shoulder looking at the computer screens. One of the screens is a jumble of letters and numbers, but the other is of Times Square in New York.

"Derek always wanted to hack all of the electronic billboards. But he never did it because he said he didn't have a message strong enough." Lissa tells him and then types a few things into one of the keyboards.

Billy watches on the screen showing Times Square as all of the billboard screens change to images of either Billy or Michaela. On the largest screen are the words "Remember The Fallen". With the city already busy with tourists flocking to the streets and residents heading off to work, it's clear the message is heard. "You're a good person, Lis." Billy tells her and then kisses her, "He'd be proud."

Lissa looks to the screen, one last time, a sad smile on her face. "He would be, though he'd probably tell me I did some piece of code wrong." She tells him with a laugh before hitting the power buttons to the computer monitors. She pulls Billy back to bed with her and the two lay down in silence.

"So I was thinking, sliding bookcases that open up to weapons storage as well as serving as an emergency exit route." Billy tells her. While they were in hiding, the two secretly purchased the farmhouse Garrett had blown up when he kidnapped them. The property was actually next door to Barney's with about five acres of woods separating them. They began to plot out how they wanted the house built and spent hours picking out options for windows and doors. It was a dream they had to keep them hopeful of their return and now that they are back it's a reality. "Oh and this." Billy says reaching to the floor and pulling something up. He drops it into Lissa's hand with a small smile on his face.

Lissa opens her hand and sees a simple good band ring with a diamond on the top. An engagement ring. "Billy…yes." She then leans over kissing him.


	30. Chapter 30: The End

**Authors Note: So this is the final chapter. I had originally planned to end it here but many are looking for a chapter on Lissa and Billy's wedding. I'm on the fence if I'll do a short sequel which features the wedding or write a couple of "bonus" chapters and one of which will be the wedding. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to see a short sequel (around 10 chapters) or a few bonus chapters.**

* * *

A week later Barney, The Expendables, Maggie and Tool are all out in spare barn on Barney's property. It's too cold outside for them to be out there but inside the barn, which is warmed by a makeshift woodstove Gunnar rigged up, it's comfortable. Caesar is sizzling steaks on a grill by the barn door, music is playing and beers are in everyone's hands. This afternoon they are all celebrating, not only winning but also being alive. Barney stands by the woodstove, looking the whole party over. He spots Lissa sitting at a picnic table Toll dragged in with her legs across Billy's lap. The two of them are laughing at something Lacy and Lee are saying. On one of her legs rests a small husky puppy Billy named Remy after the Remington gun company. And in Lissa's arms is the husky puppy she named Colt, after another gun manufacturer. Surprisingly it's not the names that bother him, it's the fact that Lissa and Billy both keep the dogs in their arms most of the time. He kept warning them that they were spoiling the dogs.

"Don't you hiss at me cat." Caesar says from the behind the grill, to the lean black cat that's missing one eye, "I might not cook you, but Yin will!" He warns, which earns him a laugh from Yin and the others.

When Lissa and Billy picked up the husky pups from the animal shelter they found out the cat was going to put to sleep since he was deemed a "less appealing" pet due to this missing eye and therefore less likely to be adopted. It news struck Lissa in the heart and she was filling out the adopting papers seconds later. The cat, had a strong mistrust of people after losing his eye and took to hissing at them before running away. Well everyone except for Barney who the cat took a liking to the first day. The cat dropped a dead mouse at Barney's feet while he was cooking dinner one night. The action won Barney over and he named the cat Hunter. After that, Hunter, took to following Barney around sleeping at the foot of his bed and bringing him a catch of the day.

Barney lets out a small content sigh and takes a swig of his beer. Back in Sedov's compound in San Lorenzo Island, he saw a flash of the daughter he knew people would look at and say had to be Barney Ross' daughter. The woman every bit deadly and filled with wit and hate like him. It was the moment when she cocked the gun and held it on Sedov with pure hatred in her eyes. Looking at her now, he sees the daughter he didn't know he wanted, the life he wanted. She's happy and in love. Now that her contract with the FBI and CIA has been voided and she's free on any and all charges, she's able to walk away from work at the end of the day. She's able to live a normal life except for when the calls for work come. She's not cynical like him, because she still sees some good in the world despite everything that's happened to her.

This is one of the reasons why he brought Billy onto the team over a year ago. He wanted for the second wave of The Expendables to be better versions of the current, people still capable of compassion, trust and love. With Lissa and Billy leading this second wave, Barney knows this will happen.

"She really is something special." Maggie says as she walks up to Barney handing him a new beer.

"Yep." Barney answers taking a swig, "Maybe getting close to people isn't so bad after all."

"I've been trying to tell you that." Maggie tells him with a smile.

"Hey Dad?" Lissa calls looking over her shoulder, "Lacy and Lee are saying it's impossible for either of our weddings to not end in a knife fight." On the plane ride back from San Lorenzo Island, Billy quietly asked Barney from his blessing to marry Lissa. And he asked her the following morning in a simple no frills proposal, just the way the two of them like it. A couple of days later they found out that Lee popped the question to Lacy as well. His time spent captive by Sedov motivated him to finally do it – despite everyone's doubts of her fidelity.

Barney shakes his head and walks down from the porch, "At Lacy and Lee's? Oh it's bound to happen. I'm sure there will be a few dozen men objecting and Lee is going to have to knife them to shut them up."

"Barney!" Lacy cries out, "I am not cheating on Lee!"

"Now." Caesar shouts from behind the grill, which causes everyone to chuckle while Lacy grows red in the face.

"But don't worry as yours we'll have metal detectors for when the guests walk in." Barney tells her with a grin, "Though that might pose a problem with the wedding gifts since clearly the two of you will be registering with Tool and his black market arms dealer."

"The couple who shoots together, stays together." Tool says and then looks to Lissa and Billy, "I already have the best gift picked out."

Lissa looks to Billy and then to Barney. As cliché as it sounds in her head she says it anyways, "I've already got the best." She says with a smile meaning having Barney and Billy in her life. She then pauses before looking to Tool, "I'll settle for second best though. Like a fully customize gel padded bullet proof vest. I found a guy who actually sculpts them to fit."

Barney lets out a laugh and then looks over to Maggie with a smile. He knew he'd never have a normal life after he took his first mission as a mercenary. Now with Lissa in his life, he finds a bit of normalcy in it. And it's enough to make him rethink his rules about not getting close to people. Because he knows if anyone tires to hurt the people he cares about, he has a whole team ready to track that person down.

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**Authors Note: As mentioned above let me know if you want to see a few bonus chapters including Lissa and Billy's wedding or a short sequel which features it. Thank you to all who have read and commented, it made writing this so much fun!**


	31. Preview for The Sequel

**Authors Note: Below is a bit of the first chapter "What We Become" entitled "Forced Selection". Shortly after posting this I will be creating the new story which will have Chapter 1 in it's entirety. I hope you'll check it out, there's tons of action to come!**

** My apologies for the delay in getting the sequel up, by the way. I hope all of you fans from the first one will check out the sequel. **

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Lissa Hollis lets out a small sigh as she sits back into the plush chair while a makeup artist applies a pale silver eye shadow to her eye lids.

"I'm surprised this place hasn't been featured in a movie." The makeup artist, a petite girl with her blonde hair pulled back into a bun, says, "I mean it really is a scene straight from a fairytale wedding."

A smile can't help but form on Lissa's lips, "It really is huh?" She lets her arms slide down from the chairs arms rests to the silky white dress she's wearing. The venue, The Grand Franklin Inn, was an old hotel that fell to ruins as it aged. A few years ago it was bought by a wealthy man who returned the hotel to its former glory. Not an expense was spared when it came to restoring the hardwood floor in the large ballroom or the marble on the stairs leading to the second floor. At least that's what the wedding planner told Lissa and Billy when she brought them to there. It only took minutes for them to both be won over by the beauty of the hotel which included the ballroom which had walls and a ceiling like a green house.

The makeup artist sets her brush and eye shadow palette down, steps back and looks Lissa over, "You look gorgeous." She tells Lissa and steps out of the way so Lissa can look into the vanity mirror in front of her. Lissa smiles at her reflection. Her still dyed black hair comes just below her shoulders now. The hairstylist pulled pieces back to keep it out of her face and secured it with bobby pins then curled the occasional piece here and there for texture. It was simple and how she liked it. Her normally pale skin has a hint of tan to it after a job in Mexico the week before. The makeup is simple like her hair, just enough to be noticeable. "I'll come back before pictures to do touch ups." The makeup artist tells Lissa then walks out of the bridal suite.

Lissa looks around the empty room, enjoying being left alone for the first time she woke up this morning. Lacy and Maggie were serving as her bridesmaids, since the majority of the people Lissa's close to are men. She was going to invite Michelle, an FBI agent she was close with to join the bridal party but decided against it. If Michelle overheard even half the things The Expendables do, she'd be obligated to arrest them all. Which would then lead to arrests of nearly all the wedding guests before Lissa and Billy would get a chance to say _"I do"._


End file.
